Facts About Bullying

Facts About Bullying

What Is Bullying?

Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that is intentional, hurtful, (physical and psychological), and/or threatening and persistent (repeated). There is an imbalance of strength (power and dominance).

The above definition includes the following criteria that will help you determine if a student is being bullied:

• The mistreatment must be intentional.

• The mistreatment must be hurtful (physical or psychological).

• The mistreatment is threatening. The individual fears harms. Fear their safety.

• The mistreatment must occur more than once. However, some disagree with this. They say one very hurtful event is enough to label it bullying.

• There must be a power imbalance.

What Does Bullying Look Like?

Direct Bullying Behaviors

Physical Bullying (a few examples)

• Hitting, slapping, elbowing, shouldering (slamming someone with your shoulder)

• Shoving in a hurtful or embarrassing way

• Kicking

• Taking, stealing, damaging or defacing belongings or other property

• Restraining

• Pinching

• Flushing someone’s head in the toilet

• Cramming someone into his or her locke

• Attacking with spit wads or food

Verbal Bullying (a few examples)

• Name-calling

• Insulting remarks and put-downs

• Repeated teasing

• Racist remarks or other harassment

• Threats and intimidation

• Whispering behind someone’s back

Indirect Bullying Behaviors

Social/Relational (a few examples)

• Destroying and manipulating relationships (turning your best friend against you)

• Destroying status within a peer group

• Destroying reputations

• Humiliation and embarrassment

• Intimidation

• Gossiping, spreading nasty and malicious rumors and lies about someone

• Hurtful graffiti

• Excluding someone from a group (social rejection or isolation)

• Stealing boyfriends or girlfriends to hurt someone

• Negative body language (facial expressions, turning your back to someone)

• Threatening gestures, taunting, pestering, insulting remarks and gestures

• Glares and dirty looks, nasty jokes, notes passed around, anonymous notes

• Hate petitions (promising to hate someone)

Other Bullying Behaviors

Cyber bullying: negative text messages on cell phones, e-mail, or voice-mail messages, Web pages, and so on Direct and indirect forms of bullying often occur together. All of these behaviors can be interrelated.

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