Bullying in Schools: A Critical Problem in Need of a New Approach by Thomas Lickona

Worldwide, one of 3 students reports being bullied. Bullied students do less well academically, often suffer social isolation, and are at greater risk of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems that commonly persist into adulthood and are worse than the effects of parental abuse. Students who frequently perpetrate bullying are at greater risk of engaging in criminal conduct as teens and adults and having other poor life outcomes. Despite anti-bullying legislation in all 50 states and many bullying prevention programs, most of the problem remains. Because bullying typically feeds off a wider peer culture of disrespect and cruelty, a comprehensive character education approach is needed in order to build a positive peer culture and foster student virtues such as kindness and respect that function as psychological inhibitors of bullying. School and classroom strategies for building culture and character are described and research cited that support this promote-the-positive approach to the problem of school bullying.

 

The Modern Day Bystander: Online and Face-to-Face Bystander Actions of Adolescents in Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying by Tamara R. Sheppard & Marilyn A. Campbell

This study investigated whether bystanders of traditional bullying and cyberbullying used face-to-face methods, online methods or both methods when reporting, discouraging and providing support to the victims of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. A questionnaire was completed by 348 high school students (Years 7 – 12) from seven independent schools in Australia. Overall, students predominantly utilized face-to-face methods when reporting to others for both types of bullying. Older students were more likely to use online methods to discourage the traditional bully (i.e., asking the bully to stop). Males and older students were more likely to use online methods to support victims of traditional bullying. Females were more likely to use face-to-face methods to support victims of cyberbullying. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

 

A Comparative Study of Middle and High School Students Perceptions on Bullying in Selected Schools by Louvetta R. Dicks & Casimir J. Kowalski

Bullying is a critical problem that adversely affects students, school culture and the overall learning environment (Sampson, 2002). Bullying is not limited to elementary students and impacts students in older age groups and across gender and ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in the perceptions of middle and high students regarding bullying and school culture. The sample consisted of 553 middle and high school students. The survey instrument: Student Perceptions of Bullying and School Culture Survey, used a four-choice Likert scale developed by the researcher. The study investigated students’ perceptions regarding bullying: female and male students, and African-American and Caucasian students on categories of Policy, Culture and Student Responses. The findings indicated that middle school students had a higher level of agreement on the perception of bullying in their school than high school students on categories of Culture and Student Responses. The differences in the mean scores of African-American and Caucasian students were statistically significant on Culture and Student Responses subscales. There were no statistically significant differences between male and female students on the total survey of three categories of Policy, Culture and Student Responses. Independent t-tests were conducted to complete statistical hypothesis testing. The difference between the mean scores for middle and high school students was statistically significant in terms of the 3 subscales of Policy, Culture and Student Responses.

 

Bullying Among Boys with Disabilities by Allison Toth, Robin M. Kowalski, & Matthew Webb

Though many studies have focused on traditional bullying, cyberbullying, and sibling bullying independently, none have examined these three types of bullying together within a single sample, particularly a sample of adolescents with disabilities. The present study was primarily concerned with prevalence rates of the three types of bullying and whether involvement in one form could predict involvement with another form of bullying. Thirty-one male students at a therapeutic boarding school participated. Prevalence rates of traditional bullying and cyberbullying were higher for perpetrators, victims and bully/victims than previously published rates. Involvement in one type of bullying was significantly related involvement with other types of bullying. The results of this study can help inform prevention and intervention efforts. They highlight the need for parents, educators, and community members to look further if they find that a student is involved with one form of bullying to see if he/she is also involved in other types of bullying.

 

Workplace Bullies Why they are successful and what can be done about it? by Mr. Karl Olive & Dr. Joseph P. Cangemi

Bullying has reached epidemic proportions in the workplace. Workplace bullying not only impacts the health and well-being of its victims, it also impacts organizations through decreased productivity, excessive absenteeism, and costs associated with employee turnover. Despite these adverse consequences, many upper level leaders actually create conditions within their organizations that foster bullying. The authors of this paper outline the organizational circumstances that promote bullying, as well as discuss the different types of workplace bullies and their common characteristics. In addition, the authors identify the steps that organizations and individuals can take to mitigate the impact of workplace bullying.

 

The Bullying of Nurses by Nurses by Carol Apt, Ph.D.

Gone are the days when the public perception of bullying was that it occurred mainly in residential neighborhoods and on school playgrounds, and that bullies were children whose parents had not taught them ‘proper’ values and behaviors. This paper examines the serious problem of the bullying of nurses, sometimes by other nurses, who are employed in health care settings. Regardless of the job title of the perpetrator, the bullying of nurses can have deleterious effects on a number of areas, such as: job performance, morale, productivity, turnover, and patient care, to name a few. This paper looks at possible antecedents to such bullying behaviors as well as some of the interventions that have been undertaken to ameliorate those situations.

 

Hazing: Bullying in the Military by Joanna Bourke

Military hazing, or the imposition of painful and/or humiliating practices on recruits, is a common form of bullying. It has a long and contested history but, unlike other forms of bullying, proponents within the armed forces defend it, often with great gusto. This article explores some reasons for its longevity. In the U.S. Marines, army, navy, and airforce, hazing is generally justified in individual, psychological terms. In this article, I argue that it is also important to explore the powerful institutional bases for its practice.

 

Cyberbullying Comes to Work by William “Marty” Martin

Workplace bullying remains a constant in workplaces; however, the expression of workplace bullying differs over time. With the digitization and the Internet of Things, workplace bullying is changing with advances in Information and Computer Technology (ICT). The core elements of workplace bullying are the same. Yet, there are noteworthy differences between face-to-face (F2) workplace bullying and workplace cyberbullying. A multi-level model is proposed to guide both researchers and practitioners to design, deliver and continuously improve interventions aimed at both preventing and addressing workplace cyberbullying. This model draws upon reciprocal determinism theory and sets forth research propositions to determine the validity of this model as a guide to prevent and address the prevalence of a new expression, albeit distinctive expression of bullying at work-cyberbullying.

 

Faculty Bullying in Higher Education by Loraleigh Keashly & Clara Wajngurt

Bullying is a pressing social problem and public health issue that exists across contexts. Thus, it is no surprise that bullying exists in higher education. Given faculty’s key role in the quality and health of an institution, we focus on faculty experiences of bullying, with particular attention to bullying by colleagues. We examine how bullying’s expression and thus, its management, is conditioned by the unique workplace nature of academe, characterized by academic freedom, shared governance, and tenure. Grounded in this analysis of the “what and why” of bullying, we discuss two types of actions that are useful in addressing and managing bullying among faculty.

 

Adult Bully Syndrome: An Integrative Conceptualization Based on a Personality Disorders Framework by Chris Piotrowski

Bullying by adults appears to be a common experience in work, social, and even family settings. Yet, historically, there has been limited scholarly research on this prevalent and aberrant interpersonal style. This article presents a review of the extant literature on adults who bully other adults that supports the use of the mental health designation: Adult Bully Syndrome. This review covers case studies, commentaries, and empirically-based research. Although seminal research proposed a continuum of ‘bullying’ tendencies evident from childhood to adolescence, more recent research has focused on the unique psychological characteristics of adult bullies. There is strong empirical evidence that depicts the adult bully as harboring pervasive psychopathological tendencies such as narcissism and Machiavellianism, with a propensity for exhibiting abusive, controlling, callous, manipulative, domineering, coercive, and self-centered behaviors. This constellation of interpersonal dysfunction, manifested in ingrained and chronic features, strongly reflects prominent diagnostic characteristics evident in major personality disorders. Based on this conceptual framework, the current review argues that the designation, Adult Bully Syndrome, has not only empirical support, in line with other recognized excessive behavioral syndromes, but also provides a diagnostic model to guide future investigatory efforts on this aberrant psychological condition.

 

Bullying and Victimization in Jail by Ami Rokach, Ph.D., and Gwenaelle Philibert, B.A.

Bullying is garnering increased attention from the public and the academic community lately. In jail it is a particularly disturbing problem since inmates, by definition, are locked and cannot avoid whatever prison life offers, and when they are subjected to bullying its ramifications are far reaching, damaging, and may even be traumatic. In this article we provide a picture of bullying in jail, point out the characteristics of the bully and the victim, and review established programs that were developed to address that issue with this specific population.

 

Cyberbullying: Who Does What to Whom and With What Effect? by Robin M. Kowalski, Ph.D.

This article provides a brief literature review on cyberbullying or electronic bullying. Cyberbullying is first defined and compared with traditional bullying. The chapter then examines general prevalence rates of cyberbullying followed by an examination of the consequences of involvement in cyberbullying. The chapter closes with a discussion of what parents and educators can do to address electronic bullying, along with some of the hot topics in the cyberbullying research arena at the present time.