According to Oxford dictionaries, a bully is âa person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weakerâ. Bullying occurs throughout all stages of life, many people think it is just a phase all children go through when they would physically intimidate other children. However, physical aggression is simply one form of bullying and it tends to decline in age and is replaced by indirect forms of aggression (Boyd et al., 2009). Â In our project, we are attempting to learn more about bullying and delve deeper into the causes of bullying, to find out why and how some people are more aggressive to their peers than others. Simply put, we are trying to address the issue of what affects bullying and what bullying affects. We will be looking into parenting styles, family dynamics, gender differences, ethnicity issues, and typical personality traits associated with bullying, while looking at how bullying affects victims.Â
Today at school I tripped Jared and made him cry. What a loser! I told him he would pay when he embarassed me in front of the whole class! LoL. Look who gets the last laugh now? He shouldn't have pointed out the mistake I made on the question on the board. I hate getting chosen to do stuff in class. I just want to be left alone!
What a stupid day at school and home wasn't better. I'm writing this while eating a fruit roll-up I snatched out of my brother Bruce's hands LoL. He cried until dad got home and he tattled on me! What a stupid head! Who even cries about fruit roll-ups anyway. Too bad there's nothing he can do about it because I am so much bigger and two years older than him LoL. People are so sensitive.
I got called down to the office today, because some girls and my ex-friends tattled on me. They told the teacher that I was calling them mean names; I canât help it if theyâre annoying! I thought they were having fun too, I mean, after all, Iâve been doing it for months. As if that wasnât bad enough, my ex-friends told on me too, they told the noon hour supervisor that I had been pushing them around when we play grounders, theyâre slow, itâs what they get, if they would walk faster, it wouldnât be a problem.
I am so mad at them! I am so mad at the entire world! My parents are being mean and annoying too! I canât handle this; I thought I could escape from annoying people at school, nope! Â
Tim Jone (Gender Differences on Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying)
Dear Diary,
I really hate how my sister is always giving me a hard time when it's my little brother JJ, that is always annoying me. He is the biggest brat ever. Last time I was on the phone with my girlfriend and he was standing outside my door the whole entire time to eavesdrop on our conversation. When I found out about it, I chased him down and stuffed his head in the toilet until he was screaming and crying like a little girl. Oh yea, I also helped him pierced his ears too. A lesson that he will remember forever. My sister Jill then comes yelling at me and asking how the hell do I even have the heart to do something like that to JJ. I know I know, he's only five but honestly I don't give a crap. I don't understand why Jill is always so uptight about everything and always giving me lectures about other people's feelings. She continuously tells me to try to live in the other person's perspective. Well first of all, I wouldn't go eavesdropping on other people's conversation. So JJ should be the one apologizing to me. Goodness.. everyone is so uptight and sensitive about everything. They should just live a little, there's plenty of time to be dead.
I failed a pop-quiz. Again. Who cares anyways, right? I donât remember the last time anybody asked me how my day was.
I got mad and made fun of Jerry for having blonde hair, and how it made him look like a pansy. I get mad a lot now that I think about it. Maybe thatâs why I donât have many friends?
Spriggs, A. L., Ianotti, I., Nansel, T., Haynie, D. (2007). Adolescent Bullying Involvement and Perceived Family, Peer and School Relations:Commonalities and Differences Across Race/Ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 4, 283-293.
Both Hispanic bullies and victims suffered from poor academic performance
Hispanic bullies were socially isolated and reported poor social relations to their classmates
It was very uneasy for me to walk in today. The whole atmosphere was weighing heavily on my chest. Right at the moment I spotted on the nasty man, my heart sank! For no reason at all, I am so afraid of this guy. I know he treats me unfarily but I always struggle to stand up for myself in front of a man who has authority over me. I smiled at him anyways while I walked passed by him, realizing how unwilling and fake my smile was. Whenever he's in my sight, I seek no self confidence at all, it's almost nerve racking and I find my hands to be super shaky.Â
Today during recess I pushed Jared off of the swings since I wanted to play with it. He hit his head on the rocks, it was hilarious LOL. He ran crying to the supervisor and when they asked me if I did it, I told them I didnât haha. The stupid-heads didnât believe me though and I got detention >=( . Thatâs 4 days in a row this week that I have been punished LOL, guess I gotta work on my lying to be more believable.
According to the research by Book et al. (2011),
Book, A.S., Volk, A.A., & Hosker, A. (2011). Adolescent bullying and personality: An adaptive approach. Personality and Individual Differences 52 (2012) 218â223. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.028
There is an idea that bullying behaviour is an adaptive action related to evolution that increases the likelihood of gaining access to physical, social, and sexual resources.
Participants who were classified as bullies (according to the questionnaire used to measure) were found to be negatively correlated to personality traits like honesty, agreeableness, emotionality, and conscientiousness. (Bo Lee did not feel bad when he pushed Jared off the swings, and lied to the supervisors about doing so but noone believed him. This shows Bo Lee having negative relationships with honesty, agreeableness, emotionality, and conscientiousness)
It was also found that instrumental aggression was a significant predictor of bullying behaviour whereas reactive aggression did not. (Bo Lee used his aggression and bullying as a way to get a reward (the swing) which shows that he is using instrumental aggression in bullying).
Today, Sally was being a know-it-all in class so I called her ugly and stupid. She's always raising her hand to answer the teacher's questions and it is sooooooo annoying. Everyone thinks so too and I think noone likes her.
The study by Lind et al.. (2009),
Lind, K., Glaso, L., Pallesen, S., & Einarsen, S. (2009). Personality Profiles Among Targets and Nontargets of Workplace Bullying. European Psychologist 2009; Vol. 14(3):231â237. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040.14.3.231
Studied bullying in the workplace of nursing home workers in Bergen, Norway.
Used a questionnaire to measure bullying and the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) to measure personality.
Showed that individuals with high scores of conscientiousness were targeted more for bullying perhaps because they tend to be hard-working, moralistic, and organized which may seem patronizing to others.
Showed also that individuals with low agreeableness rating were targeted more for bullying too. A low agreeableness rating may mean that the individual is rude and irratable.
The character, Sally, in Bo's diary entry represents someone who has high conscientiousness and low agreeableness. She is an overconfident student which is seen as an irritable trait to her peers. In turn, she has a low agreeableness rating.
My little brother, Bruce, is such a loser! I asked to borrow his toy airplane and he wouldn't let me so I just took it from him. He tried to get it back but he's so weak LOL. We fought for a little bit and I made him cry. Haha pansy.
In the study by Menesini et al. (2010).
Menesini, E., Camodeca, M., & Nocentini, A. (2010). Bullying Among Siblings: The Role of Personality and Relational Variables. British Journal of Developmental Psychology (2010), 28, 921â939.
Gender, age, and personality were studied in relation to sibling bullying.
It was found that children with an older brother tend to be victimized more often than children with a younger sibling (either brother or sister).
It was found that high levels of conflict along with low levels of empathy were related to sibling bullying for both boys and girls.
It was found that high levels of energy is related to sibling bullying between boys most likely due to more a more physical type of bullying and fighting.
Bo and Bruce are always fighting and the conflict is high. Since Bo is the older brother, he is the one doing the bullying to Bruce. There is no empathy between the two and they are constantly fighting.
When I show up at home, feeling really sad, I feel like I want a hug from my mom, but she always brushes me off. She always tells me to just go watch TV or play games, sheâs too âbusyâ, she says. Busy doing what? Gossiping with her friends on the phone? Arguing with my grandma about how she always has to do âeverythingâ around the house? Even though when we offer to help, she says no, and pushes us away? Maybe if she didnât push my father away, sheâd have more help, but no, they always fought about the littlest things because my mom would always complain when things didnât go her way.
According to research from Bowers et al. (1992):
Bowers, L., Smith, P.K., & Binney, V. (1992). Cohesion and power in the families of children involved in bully/victim problems at school.Journal of Family Therapy, 14, 371-387. doi: 10.1046/j..1992.00467.
Negative attitudes demonstrated by primary caregivers combined with usage of power-assertive methods of discipline result in children being more likely to be aggressive towards others
When children are exposed to models of aggression without parents effectively monitoring they start to develop these behaviours and generalize it to their peer groups
Bullies are less likely to have biological father at home
My father left us when I was 7, Iâm 12 now, but I still remember having fun with him. I remember liking him a lot more than my mother, but he was rarely around. He always had to stay late at the office, most of the time, he wasnât even home until I went to bed at 9. Mom didnât work at that time, but she was always out with her friends and grandma didnât live with us yet. I remember being home by myself a lot, I would try to make my own food, which is mostly peanut butter and jam sandwiches. I would just watch a lot of TV and play with my dolls. I wish dad was home more often, I sometimes still visit him, but itâs not the same. He was a lot of fun when he was home, we always played games and read together, and mom always thought those activities was boring.Â
According to research from Christie-Mizell et al. (2011):
Christie-Mizell, C.A., Keil, J.M., Laske, M.T., & Stewart, J. (2011). Bullying behavior, parents' work hours and early adolescents. Youth Society, 43 (4), 1570-1595. doi: 10.1177/0044118X10388261
Parents working overtime constantly may contribute to an increase in bullying behaviour because there is less time for parent-child interactions that can encourage the internalization of appropriate social norms that can decrease bullying behaviour
Parents encourage internalization of social norms by spending time with children, monitoring their activities, offering cognitive stimulation and providing emotional support. Or by using social networks outside of the home, such as other parents, teachers, neighbours who can aid parents in providing these social interactions with children
Internalization of appropriate norms occurs more easily when youth perceive that their parents are investing time in them
When children perceive that they do not spend enough time with their fathers, they tend to have higher incidents of bullying behaviour
Today, the counsellor had to sit my down for another talk, telling me about how bad it was that I was making the other girls upset, again. I stomped my way home, I was so angry, when I got home, I knocked over a vase. Mother was on the phone, again, as usual. She didnât even look my way. I ripped up a calendar and threw it in the kitchen, she didnât care. She always expects me to do well in school, to my homework and to help my younger brother. When I do what she tells me, she barely acknowledges me, but when I forget, she screams.Â
According to research from Bowers et al. (1992):
Bowers, L., Smith, P.K., & Binney, V. (1992).Cohesion and power in the families of children involved in bully/victim problems at school.Journal of Family Therapy, 14,371-387. doi:10.1046/j..1992.00467
Families with high cohesion (warmth, low levels of hostility) less likely to produce child who bullies
Consistent with theory that authoritative parents, those with high warm, high level of clarity, high maturity demands and high level of communication tend to have children who are less prone to develop behaviour problems
Cohesion scores are lowest for bullies (When asked to do the FAST test, in which participants are given wooden figures to represent family members and asked to place them on a grid according to amount of closeness between members ).Â
Olweus (1994) has also argued that the emotional attitude of parents is an important factor in determining how the childâs peer relations develop at school. He found that a negative emotional attitude by the primary caregiver, together with permissiveness of aggression and use of power-assertive methods of discipline, increased the chance that a child will later become aggressive towards others.
Consistent with B.F. Skinnerâs Principles of Operant Conditioning, consistency is required for punishments to be effective: when parents donât control their childrenâs behaviour, children donât have consequences for being aggressive and will continue to be aggressive.
Youâd think that having a brother would be able to help me deal with some of the issues at home, but no, he is so anti-social. He refuses to play games with him, all he ever wants to do is sit in his corner and play video games. So most of the time, I just sit by myself and watch TV or read. The only times we even speak to each other is when my mom makes me help him with his homework because she wonât help him herself due to her âbusyâ schedule. Sometimes I get mad at him for being so lame and never playing with me. I would shove and poke him to get his attention but he would always just ignore me or walk away. I really wish I had somebody to talk to at home.
According to research by Christie-Mizell et al. (2011) and Duncan (1999):Â
Christie-Mizell, C.A., Keil, J.M., Laske, M.T., & Stewart, J. (2011). Bullying behavior, parents' work hours and early adolescents. Youth Society, 43 (4), 1570-1595. doi: 10.1177/0044118X10388261.
Duncan, R. D. (1999). Peer and sibling aggression: An investigation of intra- and extra-familial bullying. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 871-886.
The less siblings there are at home, the more likely the child will engage in bullying behaviour
Maladaptive social behaviours of bullies may be related to problems with siblings
Majority of bullies reported bullying their siblings
Children who were aggressive to their siblings are more likely to be aggressive to peers (Berndt, 1985)
 Both bullies and victims reported either bullying siblings or being bullied by siblings
 Having a positive relationship with siblings allow for the formation of desirable social skills and this is important as most children spend most of their time at home, especially during the early years of childhoodÂ
Today at school my girlfriend was crying in the washroom for the whole lunch hour. Wow. I really donât understand girls sometimes. Someone said she looked really horrible in her outfit today and that she should honestly consider going to Jenny Craigâs or something. I really donât get what the big deal is. She was crying for an hour straight and then was mad at me for my lack of attention towards her. Itâs not my fault that she is so sensitive and besides her best friend Stacy was with her anyways. Stacy also confronted me saying how I should be more considerate and think about how I would feel if I were in her shoes. Girls and their overly annoying dramas...Time for some gaming!
According to Ăigdem Topcu and ĂzgĂźr Erdur-Baker (2012)
Topcu Ăigdem and Erdur-BakerĂzgĂźr. (2012) Affective and cognitive empathy as mediators of gender differences in cyber and traditional bullying. School Psychology International, 33, 550. DOI: 10.1177/0143034312446882
Cognitive empathy refers to the ability of an individual to adopt anotherâs perspective and identify their emotion
Affective empathy is the ability of how an individual responds accordingly to another personâs mental state
Studies show that girls are more empathetic than boys which may result in more boys are bullies in the traditional and cyber environment
However the main concern is children with a low level of empathy (not just targeting boys) because they are likely to develop the characteristics of a bully
My sister has this hidden secret that I found out by going through her journals. She actually has a bedwetting problem and sheâs so afraid of others finding out about it. I guess it is pretty humiliating to have such a problem at this age. No wonder she never goes to her friendâs sleepover parties and every time her boyfriend insist on staying the night, she always find some lame excuses to brush him away. Last week I told her if she didnât pay for my lunch I would go and tell our little brother about it. She freaked out because she knows that JJ will tell our parents and all his classmates about how his OLDER sister has such a weird problem. Today I wanted her to help me with the chores but obviously she refused. However that changed really quickly after I told her Iâm going to text her boyfriend about âsome stuff.â This is hilarious! Sheâs a type of girl that cares about her reputation so much that she would do anything to save her face. And as for me? Now I have some real good juicy news to share with everyone if she doesnât do as I say.
According to Ăigdem Topcu and ĂzgĂźr Erdur-Baker (2012)
Topcu Ăigdem and Erdur-BakerĂzgĂźr. (2012) Affective and cognitive empathy as mediators of gender differences in cyber and traditional bullying. School Psychology International, 33, 550. DOI: 10.1177/0143034312446882
In other studies, it show that bulliesâ level of empathy specifically cognitive is higher than normal - this applies to both females and males who have high levels of cognitive empathy
High level of cognitive empathy allows them to mind read others and understand what actually hurts their victims most and with such information, the bullies can pinpoint and attack their victims in a way that will cause more distress to the victim
The more distress the victim is, the more likely the bully will continue to attack them
Today is my 14th birthday. A bunch of my guy friends came over and we just chilled. We were going through facebook and stalking this kinda socially awkward girl in our grade. She had some pretty funny pictures posted up of herself dressed in anime clothing and even had a cover of herself singing a theme song to one of the anime shows. Â We know she has been crushing on this other guy named Bruce for ages so my buddies and I decided to make a fake account on facebook using Bruceâs name. So we messaged her using the fake account and it was the most hilarious thing ever! She really did think it was the real Bruce. Then one of my buddy got kind of nasty and messaged her saying, âIâm sorry but I will never like you because you have too many pimples on your face.â We went on for quite a while saying a lot of funny and weird stuff to her. It was a great birthday indeed!
 According to research by Smith et al. (2002)
Smith, Peter K. Cowie, Helen. Olafsson,Ragnar F. and Liefooghe, Andy R D. (2002) Definitions of Bullying: A Comparison of Terms Used, and Age and Gender Differences, in a Fourteen-Country International Comparison. Child Development, 73 (4), 1119-1133.
In senior grades girls usually decline in the level of bullying whereas guys increase
Near the end of primary school is when bullying starts where boys are usually reported as the bullies and this carries on into middle and high school
Today I learned that Jerry has a step-mom. Kinda sucks. Living with somebody you donât know. I mean, I donât talk to my mama and she doesnât talk to me much, but I just canât imagineâŚ
Spriggs, A. L., Ianotti, I., Nansel, T., Haynie, D. (2007). Adolescent Bullying Involvement and Perceived Family, Peer and School Relations:Commonalities and Differences Across Race/Ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 4, 283-293.
White bullies and victims both were less likely than their noninvolved peers to live with their biological parents.
Hispanic bullies and victims report difficulties and overall poor communication with parents
