BULLYING

To  take  into  account...  

•  To   undertake   ac/ons   against   the   Bullying  conflict  in  the  adolescence,  it  is  compulsory  to  first   deeply   understand   the   psychological  context   of   Bullying   situa/ons,   the   concept   of  bullying   and   that   it   is   considered   a   social  conflict  situa/on.    

Concept  of  Bullying.  •  Bullying   can   be   defined   as   a   verbal,   psychological,  physical,   online   or   social   behaviour   that   is   harmful   and  involves   the  misuse   of   power   by   an   individual   or   group,  towards   one   or   more   people.   These   situa/ons   might  occur  repeatedly  adop/ng  the  form  of  HARASSMENT  

•  Bullying  can  happen  in  any  context.  Examples  :  The  school  or  aIer  school,  at  the  university  or  at  the  neighbourhood,  in  a  sports  team  or  at  work.  

•  Bullying  of  any  form  or  for  any  reason  can  have  long-­‐term  effects  on  those  involved  including  bystanders.  

                                           John  Paul  Lederach.    

Why  are  adolescents  more  vulnerable  to  bullying?  •  The   adolescence   as   any   other   stage   in   the   develop   of   a   human  

being,  is  a  /me  in  which  the  person  is  in  constant  contact  with  the  environment.   Such   interac/on   in   the   case   of     teenagers   allows  them  to  meet  different  cultural,  psychological  and  social  elements  that  will  provide  them  with  the  alterna/ves  they  need  in  order  to  build  on  their  iden/ty.  

•  Socializing   ins/tu/ons   such   as   family,   school   and   religion  constantly  impose  on  the  youngest,  stereotypes  in  which  they  can  feel   iden/fied  or,  on  the  contrary  they  can  feel  discordance  from  what  society  wants  from  them,  want  they  need  and  what  they  can  be.    

•  When    teenagers  feel  discordance  between  themselves  and  those  demands,   they   find   other   iden/fying   alterna/ves   different   than  the   “ought   to   be”   established   by   society.   Violence   is   a   way   to  reveal   themselves  against  what   society   imposes   for   them.  This   is  when  the  take  bullying  as  an  iden/ty  element.  

Arias, Zorrilla (2007)

•  Erik   Erikson   (1968)   proposed   a   Psychological  Development  theory  in  which  he  explained  that  in  every  stage   of   social   life,   humans   experience   a   conflict,   and  depending  on  how  the  person  solve  that  conflict  (either  in  a  posi/ve  or  in  a  nega/ve  way),  the  person  can  move  onto   the   next   stage   with   psychological   health   or  psychological  issues.  

•  According   to   his   theory,   the   conflict   that   takes   place  during   the   adolescence   is   called   “Iden/ty   vs   Role  Confusion”  

•  Bullying   is   not   normal   behavior   or   just   part   of  growing  up.  

Identity vs Role confusion, the main conflict in the Adolescence

                           Iden/ty  vs  Role  Confussion.  

Psicosocial  Development  of  and  Adolescent.  Erik  Erikson.  

Kids  who  bully  

Ac/ve  personality  -­‐Social  power  -­‐Popularity  -­‐likes  to  dominate  others  

Passive  personality  -­‐Less  involved  in  school                                                -­‐Depressed  -­‐Low  self  esteem                                                                        -­‐Isolated  -­‐Not  iden/fied  with  others  emo/ons  -­‐Anxious  

Behaviour:  -­‐Aggressive  

-­‐Low  frustra/on  tolerance  -­‐Less  parental  involvement  

-­‐Issues  at  home  -­‐Think  badly  of  others  

-­‐Difficulty  following  rules  -­‐See  violence  in  a  posi/ve  

way  -­‐Have  friends  who  bully  

     

Long-­‐term  consequences:  

-­‐Abuse  of  alcohol  or  drugs  

-­‐Fights,  vandalize,  drop  out  of  school  

-­‐Engage  in  early  sexual  ac/vity  

-­‐Have  criminal  convic/ons.    

-­‐Abusive  in  roman/c  rela/onship  and  with  

children        

The kids who bully might have one of the personality features shown in the purple and green boxes below. Nevertheless, their behaviour and long-term effects are the same

IMPORTANT! Those who bully others do not need to be

stronger or bigger than those they bully. The

power imbalance can come from a number of

sources: popularity, strength, cognitive ability

and children who bully may have more than one

of these characteristics.

Why  do  they  bully?  •  They  don’t  know  what  they  are  doing.  •  To  look  tough  or  feel  more  powerful.  •  To  escape  their  own  problems.  •  Because  they  are  being  bullied  too.  •  To  make  themselves  popular.  •  Because  they  are  jealous  of  the  vic/m.  

References Elementary harassment restraining kids, by Glenn. E, Malone, EdD (2007) Available at http://www.slideshare.net/GEMalone/harassment-retraining-kids Risk factors, by stopbullying.gov available at http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/factors/index.html#morelikely Why do kids bully?, by stompoutbullying.org available at http://www.stompoutbullying.org/aboutbullying_why.php Arias, M; Zorrilla, S (2007) Construcción de identidad de género en jóvenes mujeres pertenecientes a un colegio de estrato socioeconómico alto de Cali. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. Cali. Erikson, E (1968) Identidad, Juventud y Crisis. Primera Edición. Buenos Aires. Editorial Paidos. Ledereach, J (1998) Construyendo paz; reconciliación sostenible en sociedades divididas. Bilbao: editorial Bakeas – Gernika Goojoratuz.