happy + healthy
empowering teens
us place, not
“The world is a dangero
evil, but
do
because of those who
k on and do
loo
because of those who
nothing.”
- Albert Einstein
Working to
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For every six kids in our country,
one is bullied on a weekly
basis. And some recent statistics
show Alabama’s incidents and
negative effects from bullying are
higher than the national average.
We asked Sue Cox Jones, the
Statewide Director of FOCUS, to
shed some light on what bullying
is (and is not), and how we can
tackle this problem together.
Q:
What constitutes
bullying?
• Intentional aggression that may be
overt or covert. Examples of overt
aggression include harassment and
physical assault. Examples of covert
aggression include exclusion and cyber
bullying.
• Multiple episodes
• Real or perceived imbalance of power
Bullying is NOT:
Mutual conflict
Social rejection
Single episode
•
•
•
Q:
When should a
student go to school
officials to report bullying?
A student should call out for help, or find
an adult or peer right away, if he or she
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Winter 2015
feels unsafe. If the student has asked, to
no avail, for the person to stop the
aggressive, unwanted and/or harassing
behavior, it should be reported.
is most at risk to
Q: Who
be bullied?
When children perceived as different are
not in supportive environments, they
may be at a higher risk of being bullied.
Depending on the environment, some
groups — such as lesbian, gay, bisexual
or transgender (LGBT) youth, youth with
disabilities and socially isolated youth
— may be at an increased risk of being
bullied. Students who “care” about school
are also at risk. A 1995 report identified
three gender types particularly at risk of
being bullied:
• Exceptionally attractive girls
• Exceptionally unattractive girls
• Boys who appear to be “gay”
Q:
Who is most likely to
bully someone else?
Recent studies have also shown that it’s
the popular kids, not the misfits, who
bully most. New research by the American Psychological Association shows
poor problem-solving increased the risk
for both being bullied, and being a bully!
www.potentialmagazine.com
it more prevalent
Q: Isamong
boys or girls?
While girls of all ages reported higher
rates of harassment than boys, the gap
between the two makes huge jumps from
elementary to middle to high school.
The least bullying for both boys and girls
occurs in elementary school, though
females still experience nearly 20 percent
more harassment than male students.
In middle school, total bullying makes a
dramatic leap, but girls still face 34.4 percent more than boys. By high school, the
difference is stark: young women reported a 56 percent higher rate of harassment
than young men in grades 9-12.
is it important
Q: Why
that we keep raising
awareness about bullying?
Several reasons! Kids who are bullied are
more likely to experience:
• Depression and anxiety, increased
feelings of sadness and loneliness, potential suicide, potential violence from
those being bullied and more. These
issues may persist into adulthood.
• Decreased academic achievement —
GPA and standardized test scores —
and school participation.