revision

Running Head: PEER VIOLENCE 1

Intervening With Peer Violence

Schools should help children understand what bullying is and what it entails. The school administration and adults should respond to this by defining what bullying is to the children. A bully can be described as someone who intentionally tries to hurt others. The bully makes the children uncomfortable. He or she can hurt the victim by hitting, kicking, tripping and pushing. Bullies also participate in name-calling and spreading nasty rumors about other children. The bullied children are hurt over and over. The victims are so used to the bullying and at times they do not even feel that they are being bullied.

They feel like they cannot do anything to stop it. They feel weaker and smaller compared to the bullies and do not know how to change the situation but just get used to it. It is important for the school administration to explain to the children that the bullies can be either boys or girls. Children may wonder why bullies pick on them. In most cases, bullies are children bigger in size. They pick on the smaller kids who do not think that they can stand up for themselves. The bullies enjoy intimidating other children so as to entertain or impress their friends. Bullies sometimes fail to realize that their behavior is hurting other children.

Bullies can be either aggressive, passive or victim bullies. Aggressive bullies can be described as impulsive, physically strong, hot-tempered, coercive, fearless and lacking in empathy for their victims. These children have an aggressive personality, and their motivation comes from the need to have power over their victims. The aggressive bullies tend to become popular in schools in the early years, but that popularity decreases as they advance to upper grades.

The passive bullies tend to be more insecure when compared to the aggressive bullies. They are less popular and have low self-esteem. Research indicates that they have difficulty concentrating in school. This leads to temper tantrums and violent outbursts. Bullies do not just attack any children. They target specific groups of students with particular characteristics. Victims are a heterogeneous group. They could be passive, provocative or bully victims.

Passive victims are the largest group of victims. They are socially withdrawn, anxious, and fearful, depressed and have low self-esteem. They are nervous and anxious in new situations, have fewer friends and are lonely and sad. These attributes make them attractive to bullies. They respond to bullying by crying, expressing futile anger and withdrawal. The victims’ emotional states and behaviors make them more vulnerable to bullying.

If a child is being bullied, they should tell someone they trust about it; either their teachers or parents. Teachers and parents should put measures in place so as to provide a safe classroom environment for the victims of bullying. This is a very important aspect of dealing with bullying at schools. The victims and the students body, in general, needs to feel that their teachers and parents are in control of the situation. In conjunction with the parents, teachers should establish themselves as the visible and clear authority that has responsibility for ensuring the school environment is positive and safe.

There should be clear sanctions and rules that are related to bullying in schools. To increase the motivation of students, teachers should treat the children with respect and warmth. By doing so, they will be demonstrating positive involvement and interest in their welfare. Both parents and teachers should take immediate action when victims report acts of bullying. This should involve non hostile and nonphysical consequences when the bullies do not observe the rules governing behavior. The incidents should be notified to parents. Such instances should be quickly resolved so as to avoid the further perpetuation of bullying behaviors.

There are several useful steps one can take to implement lasting change when it comes to eradicating bullying in schools. In addition to ensuring there are a safe learning and socializing environment in schools, stakeholders can advocate for an effective program that focuses on system-change approaches to prevention of bullying in schools. There are quite a few programs that can be used by individuals who have the commitment to see positive change in schools.

To effectively implement the programs, the school administration should start with demonstrating that bullying is a problem. This can be achieved by documenting the bullying cases that are observed or reported. In addition to that, the school should garner the support of other stakeholders such as parents and the guardians. One of the most common intervention programs is known as the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. It has been described as the best-known prevention program available. It has been proven to reduce instances of bullying in a school setting.

It was designed for students in junior high, middle and elementary schools. Its objectives include improving peer relations and enhancing safety in schools to create more positive environments. Its goals also include the prevention of new bullying problems, reducing the existing issues regarding bullying among students and increasing the positive peer relations at schools. The program has achieved a lot of support from victims of bullying as it provides more effective and stronger interventions. Research indicates that there has been approximately fifty percent reduction in bullying instances in schools using this program.

Both girls and boys participate in bullying. For girls, they display their bullying tactics by lashing out verbally, leaving other girls our, creating alliances, spreading rumors and engaging in covert behavior. Their bullying is also based on body image that can be attributed to low self-esteem, poor body image as a result of eating disorders. On the other hand, boys have a more physical type of bullying. Their bullying is more of physical intimidation. The bullying behavior, by either girls or boys, can easily cross over to sexual harassment, especially among children at the middle or high school levels. Racial diversification can also play a role in bullying. Both boys and girls can manifest their bullying by the use of racist remarks. This is common in schools that have students from various cultural diversities. Both gender and cultural diversities are highly harmful and insidious.

References

Epstein-Ngo, Q., Walton, M. A., Chermack, S. T., Blow, F. C., Booth, B. M., Zimmerman, M. A., & Cunningham, R. M. (2014). Substance use and motivations for violence: Event-level analyses of gender differences in antecedents to dating vs. peer violence. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 140, e55.