Bullying in Schools
Ever since schools first opened their doors, bullying has plagued the institution of education. Although schools began to help children of all ages learn, it has meant that people of different backgrounds, including teachers and helpers, have come together. This sometimes creates a gap in communication. These differences, and the gaps, have contributed to bullying in schools.
In this new golden age of mental health awareness there have been multiple pieces of research into the foundations of causes of mental health conditions with their repercussions. It can be said that bullying in schools is a major contributing factor in the development of mental health problems during childhood adolescence and into adulthood.
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Today we’ll be examining the effects of bullying in schools from a mental, emotional and physical perspective while also exploring the ripple-effects of bullying throughout adult life.
“One of the primary effects bullying has on children is anxiety.”
First of all, we discuss the mental and emotional aspect. Mental and Emotional bullying is usually the most apparent and can take many forms. One of the primary effects bullying has on children is anxiety. This tends to manifest in a fear of attending school and can even progress to the point of truancy. This anxiety can also seep into the child’s home life as it can cause them to not leave the house and therefore impact their social relationships.
Following on from this, bullying may also exacerbate an existing condition or illness a child may already have. For example, a child that is somewhere on the autistic spectrum could be targeted for their particular mannerisms. This, in turn, might result in them becoming more reserved or less willing to express themselves, and further lower their self-esteem.
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In addition, bullying can cause children to develop the early stages of depression. This can combine with feelings of anxiety and has the potential to grow into more serious symptoms including deliberate self-harm, suicidal ideation and, in some extreme cases, suicide. Unfortunately, this is not a rare phenomenon: in 2018 the rate of suicide in the UK for young people aged 15-24 was a staggering 9.09 per 100,000 (Ref.1). This number is a stark reminder that bullying has an incredibly potent effect on the mental health of children and can lead them to take the most extreme course of action in order to escape it.
Secondly, the physical aspect of bullying. The most obvious form of this type of bullying is physical abuse. This can either be performed by one person or a group and ranges anything from light contact to major assault. Abuse such as this is usually used as a form of punishment after the victim has not obeyed the bully/bullies’ demands and often represents an escalation of bullying from verbal abuse. However, it is not as simple as the injuries sustained during physical attacks. The threat of physical abuse can go hand-in-hand with anxiety as the anticipation of the bully’s attacks could cause the victim to be reluctant to come to school. Also, in severe situations the nature of the injuries may result in the child missing school entirely for a period of time, tremendously impacting their learning and educational progress.
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Furthermore, the reaction a child displays to being bullied in a physical way can create and reinforce negative coping mechanisms for conflict. For instance, imagine a child fights back against a bully and wins, causing the bully to leave them alone. Although this may seem like a positive outcome (after all, the child is not being bullied anymore), this has cemented in the child’s mind that violence is an effective response to conflict. If this trait were further embedded it could create problems later in the child’s life as they may develop anger management issues and a violent temperament.
“the reaction a child displays to being bullied in a physical way can create and reinforce negative coping mechanisms for conflict … that violence is an effective response to conflict”
Moreover, all forms and degrees of bullying have an emotional effect on a developing child. Emotional effects are difficult to quantify as every individual has their own way of interpreting emotions. Despite this, it can be established that there is no positive emotional effect to bullying and each child that falls victim to it suffers from some form of negativity. The main emotional manifestation of bullying is a feeling of loneliness and a belief that they have no one that can or will help them. This emotional state is very damaging and is usually based on a misunderstanding that fear, weakness or being bullied is something to be ashamed of. A feeling of shame can sometimes stop a victim of bullying from seeking help and support from a teacher or loved one, especially if the child feels bound by outdated gender roles or expectations (such as the belief that ‘boys don’t cry’). In addition, studies have shown that children that are bullied have a higher risk of developing colds, headaches and other common ailments (Ref.2). This research highlights the risks of a lowered emotional state due to bullying and shows that emotional feelings can translate into physical symptoms.
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To conclude, society has become a lot more understanding about mental health in recent years and this new emphasis on understanding and positivity should help to shine a light on the long-term negative effects of bullying in schools.
References
1: Office of National Statistics, 2018. Mortality Statistics - underlying cause, sex and age.
Data available at https://stateofchildhealth.rcpch.ac.uk/evidence/mental-health/suicide/
Accessed 01.04.2022.
2: Gini, G. and Pozzoli, T., 2009. Association between bullying and psychosomatic problems: A meta-analysis.
Pediatrics, 123(3), pp.1059-1065.
Written by Gayleen Hodson