Anne Rooney - Bullying

E-book published in 2012 by Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc., in association with Arcturus Publishing Limited, 26/27 Bickels Yard, 151-153 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3HA. Britannica, Encyclopdia Britannica, and the Thistle logo are registered trademarks of Encyclopdia Britannica, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-61535-656-0 (e-book)

Reprinted in 2011
This edition first published in 2010 by Arcturus Publishing
Distributed by Black Rabbit Books
P.O. Box 3263
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Copyright 2010 Arcturus Publishing Limited

The right of Anne Rooney to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

Planned and produced by Discovery Books Ltd.
www.discoverybooks.net
Managing editor for Discovery Books: Rachel Tisdale
Editors: Amy Bauman and Rachel Minay
Designer: D. R. ink
Consultant: Xanthe Fry, School Counselor and Educational Consultant
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rooney, Anne.
Bullying / Anne Rooney.
p. cm. -- (Teen FAQ)
Includes index.
1. Bullying--Juvenile literature. I. Title.
BF637.B85R67 2010
302.3--dc22

2010014143

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Bullying is an ugly word and an ugly activity. For the person who is bullied, the experience is one of pain, fear, humiliation, and often despair. Bullying takes many different forms and is carried out by all kinds of people.

Bullying is any activity that is done deliberately to hurt someone or make him or her feel bad. It usually builds up, becoming a sequence of cruel or intimidating behaviors. Bullying may be direct or indirect.

Direct bullying may take the form of repeated physical violence such as persistent hitting, pulling hair, burning with cigarettes, cutting, bending fingers back, and so on. Sometimes threats of violence are not followed through, but they leave the target living in fear. Direct bullying also includes stealing or destroying someones belongings, verbal abuse, and cyber bullyingusing technology to harass someone (see pages 23).

Physical bullying ranges from pushing and punching someone to causing serious injury.

Taking or damaging someones possessions are common types of bullying.

Bullying is a problem that large numbers of kids confront on a daily basis at school; its not just an issue for the few unfortunate ones.

Jaana Juvonen, Professor of Psychology, University of California in Los Angeles, California

Indirect bullying typically involves getting at someone through other people. It may mean spreading rumors, turning someones friends against him or her, isolating someone by not involving him or her in conversations and social activities, or getting someone into trouble.

People may be bullied as small children, teenagers, or even adults. Bullying can have terrible and often lasting psychological effects on the targetand also on the bully.

It can be very difficult to tell anyone if you are being bullied, as it seems shameful. Its easy to think there is something wrong with you that is causing the bullyingbut thats exactly what the bullies want you to think. Bullying can happen to anyone, and everyone has the right to stop it.

IT HAPPENED TO ME

A group of kids used to pick on me because they thought my clothes looked cheap, and they had flashy stuff. At school, they could only say things, but on the way home they used to throw stones at me. I tried to ignore them, but it got worse. Once, one of them threatened me with a knife, and another waved a cigarette lighter over my clothes saying they would set fire to my stupid outfit. That was when I told my class teacher, and soon it was sorted out. She spoke to them and sent letters to their parents, and they were told to stay away from me.

Agnes, 15

Bullying can happen anywhere, but it is most common at times and places where the target is easily isolated and vulnerable, and away from people who are likely to intervene. Its often somewhere the target has to go, so he or she cant avoid the bullies. Many young people are bullied on school premisesin corridors or staircases, in the locker rooms or toilets, on the playground or sports fields. The predictability of it makes it all the worse for the target, who becomes terrified of going to the places where he or she expects to be bullied. Some young people miss meals to avoid the lunch line; they may even skip school to avoid bullies.

There are standard short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of bullying that we see over and over, and they would include really poor self-esteem, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, self-harm, eating disorders, and in very rare cases, suicide.

Dr. Michael Carr-Gregg, Child Psychologist, Melbourne, Australia

Bullying can have terrible and long-lasting effects on someone. In the short term, it makes the target miserable and frightened and may leave him or her with physical injuries. It can damage or destroy someones self-esteem, so the target begins to believe the bullies view that he or she is weak and worthless.

Young people who are bullied often underperform at school, as they are unable to concentrate. They may be reluctant to attend school and so start to fall behind. Low self-esteem leads them to expect less of themselves, too. The psychological effects of being bullied can last a lifetimeand can lead the targets to become bullies themselves.

However, if you are being bullied, the situation is not hopeless. Your school can help and will have established ways of doing so that will not lead to the bully becoming more aggressive towards you. See pages 37 for more on what your school will do to help you.