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Bullying in Schools: Causes and Effects

Introduction

Bullying is a pervasive type of aggression which, as with other types of aggression, aims at intentionally inflicting harm to the target of bullying. This harm can be in the form of physical, emotional or the combination of both. Bullying, however, has some unique characteristics that distinguish it from other types of aggression. According to the psychologists, the defining characteristics of bullying include the fact that it is more than often a repeated phenomenon, and those who bully have more access to power than those who are being bullied (Beran, Tutty, and Steinrath. pp. 99-116.).

Bullying in schools is, most of the times, overlooked as a benign problem. But in reality, bullying is of the serious issues facing many children with potential harm to both the bully and the one who is being bullied. This paper aims at discussing the causes and effects of bullying within the context of schools. The paper mainly focuses on negative effects bullying inflicts upon the victims.

Discussion

Causes of Bullying

Bullying in schools is not a new phenomenon and it is attracting more attention of many in the society as a main cause of violence in schools. There are numerous causes of bullying. Some of these causes are discussed in the following section followed by the effects bullying has on the students who are being bullied.

Desire for Attention

This is perhaps the most common cause of bullying. According to the psychologists, the origin of this problem lies at home of those children who bully. Since these children are generally deprived of emotional support and attention a child usually needed at home, they resort to deviant behavior in order to get the attention of other people. Their desire of getting noticed by others goes to such an extent that they do not care whether the reason for being noticed is positive or negative. These children, therefore, attempt to become the centre attention by humiliating and inflicting physical harm to other children.

Media Influence

In today's world of technological advancements, children have great access to different types of information media. There are different televisions shows, online web pages, and even popular music that present violent content. Moreover, there are also such types of content that even encourage violent behavior in order to assert oneself. This type of violent material often inspires the children who may practice this behavior at schools to get attention and popularity among his or her school peers (Espelage , Bosworth, and Simon, pp. 326-33).

Desire for Power and Control

The desire for power and control is common among all human beings and those who feel abused and helpless at their homes often have greater desire for power and control. Resultantly, these children often try to assert greater control in the form of violent behavior towards their peers at school.

Influence of Gangs

There are many children with disturbing situation at home, who often attempt to find acceptance to the society through membership of different gangs present, not only in big ...