Untangling the Myths: What the Research Tells Us

Myths about bullying behavior abound. It is not uncommon to hear that bullying is just a “normal” part of childhood, that children who bully simply suffer from low self-esteem, that victims really ought to figure out how to stand up for themselves. Children and adults both frequently accuse victims of bringing the bullying on themselves—either by provoking the bullies or by making themselves look weak and defenseless (Banks, 2000).

The first step in untangling these myths is to define exactly what bullying is and how it differs from “normal” childhood conflicts. Perhaps the most important distinctions have to do with duration, power, and intent to harm (Greene, 2001). Bullying, unlike isolated conflicts between individuals, occurs when a student or group of students targets an individual repeatedly over time, using physical or psychological aggression to dominate the victim (Hoover & Oliver, 1996; Rigby, 1995; USDOE, 1998). The repeated incidents function to create and enforce an imbalance of power between bully and victim.

Among middle and high school students, bullying behavior most frequently involves teasing and social exclusion, but may also include physical violence, threats, theft, sexual and racial harassment, public humiliation, and destruction of the targeted student’s property. Bullying behavior in elementary grades is more likely than in older grades to involve physical aggression, but is characterized by teasing, intimidation, and social exclusion as well (Banks, 2000).

Additional facts about bullying:

• Both boys and girls bully; some research indicates that boys bully more than girls do, but this may have to do with how bullying is defined and/or identified.

• Bullying by girls is often more subtle and harder to detect than bullying by boys (NRCSS, 1999). Boys tend to use more physical aggression than girls do. Bullying by girls more often takes the form of teasing and social exclusion (Hoover & Oliver, 1996).

• Boys tend to bully both boys and girls, while girls are more likely to victimize other girls (Hoover & Oliver, 1996).

• Girls are more likely to bully in a group (Kreidler, 1996).

• Bullying in school tends to increase through elementary grades, peak in middle school, and drop off by the 11th and 12th grades (Banks, 2000; NRCSS, 1999).

Identifying students who bully others

When working to determine if one student is bullying another, it is important to remember that a key element of bullying behavior is an imbalance or abuse of power. Conflicts between students of roughly the same social status or who are equally capable of defending themselves are not typically bullying situations. Signs that may be helpful in identifying a student who bullies others include:

• The student regularly engages in hurtful teasing, name calling, or intimidation of others, particularly those who are smaller or less able to defend themselves. The taunting and harassment is not two-way, and appears to reinforce an imbalance of status or power (Olweus, 1993).

• The student may believe that he or she is superior to other students, or blame others for being smaller, physically weaker, or different; students who bully “may brag about their actual or imagined superiority over other students” (Olweus, 1993, p. 59).

• The student frequently fights with others as a way to assert dominance; students who bully often pick fights with students they believe to be weaker, and who do not want to be involved in the conflict (Olweus, 1993). Students who bully may also “induce some of their followers to do the ‘dirty work’ while they themselves keep in the background” (Olweus, 1993, p. 58).

• Students who bully tend to have little empathy, “derive satisfaction from inflicting injury and suffering,” and “seem to desire power and control” (NRCSS, 1999).

Despite popular perceptions of bullies, students who bully generally have average to high self-esteem, may be popular with both teachers and classmates, and may also do well in school (Olweus, 1993; NRCSS, 1999).

Identifying children who are being bullied

Again, it’s important to note that primary indicators of bullying behavior include duration, power, and intent to harm—there is a difference between children who are occasionally teased by friends and those who are being harassed and intimidated. Depending on the situation, some or all of the following signs may help identify a student who is being bullied.

• Students who are bullied are frequently “teased in a nasty way, called names (may also have a derogatory nickname), taunted, belittled, ridiculed, intimidated, degraded, threatened, given orders, dominated, [or] subdued” (Olweus, 1993, p. 54).

• A student who regularly has bruises, torn clothing, or injuries that can’t be easily explained, or who often has his or her belongings taken or damaged, may be being bullied (Olweus, 1993).

• Students who are bullied often have few or no close friends at school (NRCSS, 1999), and are frequently socially isolated (Banks, 2000). Further, they may frquently be chosen last for teams or other group activities (Olweus, 1993).

• A student who is being bullied is often less assertive, or lacks the skills necessary to respond to other students’ teasing and harassment (NRCSS, 1999); he or she may also appear weak or easily dominated (Banks, 2000; Kreidler, 1996; NRCSS, 1999).

• Students who are bullied repeatedly may also “try to stay close to the teacher or other adults during breaks,” avoid restrooms and other isolated areas, and/or make excuses to stay home from school as much as possible (Olweus, 1993, p. 55).

In general, children who are bullied tend to have lower self-esteem and self-confidence (Kriedler, 1996). They may perceive themselves negatively (particularly after repeated harassment and victimization), and shy away from confrontation and conflict—traits that other students may pick up on (Kreidler, 1996; Olweus, 1993). As a result of the bullying, they may often “appear distressed, unhappy, depressed, [and] tearful,” and their performance and interest in school may begin to deteriorate, as well (Olweus, 1993, p. 55).

That said, there is no hard evidence to show that children who are targeted by bullies share certain physical characteristics, such as wearing glasses or being overweight (NRCSS, 1999). Although students themselves often identify specific physical and social factors as contributing to victimization, the research does not appear to support this. According to Hoover and Oliver (1996), “It is not clear … that chronic scapegoats are objectively different from students not victimized” (p. 17).