What are the Consequences of Bully Victimization on Children and How Can You Help Them Cope?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, for every five students, one or more are being bullied.  This data was collected from a survey ¹ with more than 2,300 student participants, with ages ranging between 12 and 18 years-of-age.

Bullying can come in any form. Traditional bullying involves verbal, physical, and/or social bullying.  Cyber-bulling involves the use of gadgets, call and text messages, the Internet, social media sites, blogs, and websites.

The rates of cyber-bullying may be low compared to traditional bullying, but there is a correlation between the two forms.  In both traditional and cyber bullying there is a bully and a victim, and the bullies aim to cause pain and embarrassment  for the victim.  The attacks are recurrent and persistent.  There is also an imbalance of power, with the bullies feeling superior to their victims and the victims feeling incapable of defending and/or protecting themselves.

Bullying is, unfortunately, a common problem in schools, and the prevalence of cyber-bullying is increasing, putting more children at risk for the effects of bullying.  As so many victims of bullying do not report incidents, it is difficult to stop bullying  in many situations.

It is for this reason that the parent needs to know the signs of bullying, the effects of bully victimization, and how they can help their child.

Signs to Watch Out for

As a parent, there are some telltale signs that your child is being bullied. Some of these include mood swings, anger and aggression, changes in sleep and eating behaviors, withdrawal from activities your child usually enjoys, refusal to talk about his or her problems, and declining grades, amongst others.

Physical signs, like unexplained bruises and injuries, as well as damaged personal items like clothes and books, may also be present.

Effects of Bully Victimization

Several studies have been done on the consequences and effects of bully victimization: ²

• Development of stress and anxiety disorders.³  One study revealed that frequent bullying is a predisposing factor to the development of stress, anxiety, and depressive disorders as a child enters early adulthood.
• Development of eating disorders.⁴ This study established the correlation between bullying and eating disorders.
• Development of psychosomatic symptoms. ⁵  This study involving 1,639 children revealed that psychosomatic symptoms can develop in children who are being bullied. Symptoms include sore throats, poor appetite, cough and colds.  Other psychosomatic symptoms associated with bully victimization are body aches and pain, fatigue, stomachaches, headaches, and even bed-wetting.
• Suicide-related behaviors.  This study, in particular, revealed that social media and cyber-bullying do have an impact on suicide-related behaviors.⁶  Children who are being bullied online are at a higher risk for suicide attempts when compared to those who are victims of traditional bullying.  Easy access to chat rooms as well as forums also increases the risk for suicide pacts.⁷

How to Help Children Cope with Bullying

If you recognize the symptoms of bullying in your child, you need to face the problem and take action.  The effects of bully victimization are devastating, not only to your child, but to you as well.  Below are some steps you can take to help your child cope with bullying:

• Social support from the school. ⁸  and its administrators.  A strong social support from your child’s school can help prevent the development of mental health issues and help improve your child’s grades. One positive step to counter bullying is to involve the school and make them aware of the problem, so that someone can directly intervene in the situation.
• Help raise empathy from the bullies themselves. ⁹  Through the help of your child’s school, the bullies should be made to understand the effects their bullying has on their victims. This approach can help the bullies change their behavior toward their victims. One study showed that condemning the actions of the bullies did help raise empathy for their victims. However, blaming the bully for their actions did not.
• Improve communication with your child. ¹⁰  You should have a good rapport with your child. A study revealed that parents who have good communication and a good relationship with their children and their children’s friends have children who are less likely to be bullied.  If you know your child is suffering from mental and behavioral concerns, you should work with their healthcare provider in addressing the issue. You should also join parenting programs that can help you become more aware of your child’s needs, how to help them manage and control their negative emotions, and how you, as a parent, should respond when faced with these problems.
• Teach them the right response to cyber-bullying. ¹¹  This involves monitoring your child’s use of the Internet, especially social media, and making sure that the websites are safe and appropriate. It also involves keeping an open communication between you and your child, making them understand that it’s perfectly okay to tell you if he or she is being bullied online.  If there are incidents of cyber-bullying, the first step that you and your child must take is to stop responding to the vicious attacks and block the bullies from sending your child messages, texts, and calls.  The second step is to report it to the school and ask help from them.

Bullying can be prevented through proper education and by the involvement of parents and schools against bully victimization.

Author:
ChildNEXUS.com Team Member

¹ US Department of Education. December 2016.
Student Reports of Bullying: Results from the 2015 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017015.pdf
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

² Randy A. Sansone, MD and Lori A. Sansone, MD. June 2008.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bully Victims: Psychological and Somatic Aftermaths.
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

³ A Sourander, et al. August 2007.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, What is the early adulthood outcome of boys who bully or are bullied in childhood? The Finnish "From a Boy to a Man" study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17671067
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁴ JC Srabstein, et al. October to December 2006.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Morbidities associated with bullying behaviors in adolescents. School based study of American adolescents.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17340850
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁵ D Wolke. September 2001.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Bullying involvement in primary school and common health problems.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11517098
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁶ David D. Luxton, PhD, et al.  May 2012.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477910/
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁷ Sundararajan Rajagopal, December 4, 2004.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, Suicide pacts and the internet: Complete strangers may make cyberspace pacts.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534825/
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁸ Ziaoyan Zhang, et al. 2016.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, The Impact of School Social Support and Bullying Victimization on Psychological Distress among California Adolescents.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5045968/
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

⁹ Claire F. Garandeau, et al. November 2016.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information, School Bullies' Intention to Change Behavior Following Teacher Interventions: Effects of Empathy Arousal, Condemning of Bullying, and Blaming of the Perpetrator.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27696275
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

¹⁰ American Academy of Pediatrics. May 6, 2010.
ScienceDaily, Parental involvement key to preventing child bullying.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100503074239.htm
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.

¹¹ Elly Robinson, May 2012.
Australian Institute of Family Studies, Parental involvement in preventing and responding to cyberbullying.
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/parental-involvement-preventing-and-responding-cyberbullying
Accessed:  April 16, 2017.