Childhood Bullying: Words Do Hurt

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” This proverb is used by parents to try and soothe their child’s tears after they have been the victims of name calling. Taken literally the proverb is correct, but figuratively the saying could not be more mistaken. Most likely the 5.7 million American you, who are victims of bullying would agree that words certainly do hurt; fortunately for them, the general public believes that children are resilient. But how resilient do people expect them to be? The image to the left suggest that one out of ever three U.S. children is affected by bullying. With numbers such as these I believe the country needs to step back and reevaluate the way it sees children. Up until now, the belief has been that bullying by peers has short term mild to severe emotional effects; eventually the bullying will stop, the child will be able to lead a normal life and forget about their past experiences. This however, is not the case. I believe that the short term effects of bullying come with long term repercussions.

A recent study conducted by the University of Florida shows a link between those children who were the victims of social bullying during childhood, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in young adulthood. This evidence should be used as a basis for a change in how the United States views this type of harassment.Wendy Troop-Gordon, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, believes it is imperative to understand how past relational bullying affects people in adulthood. “Turning 18 is not a magical age when you leave all of these experiences behind," said Troop-Gordon, who is not affiliated with the study. "People do seem to carry these experiences with them." His statement could not be more correct. In this culture there is a great deal of expectations placed on turning eighteen. One day minors awaken, and are labeled adults. Turning eighteen is supposed to serve as a division between the life they lead, and the life they will lead. Most people would agree that the separation can never be the case, and both parts of ones life are forever intertwined.

Bullying however, is a double edge sword, and though bullies do not face disorders like depression and anxiety, they face problems forming and maintaining relationships with friends and family. Scientists at York University along with those at Queens University was conducted a new study which followed about 871 students, and surveyed then annually about their involvement in peer victimization. The study found that with those children who reported higher levels of bullying tended to be aggressive and lacking in a moral compass. They also experienced a lot of conflict in their relationships with their parents. In addition, their relationships with friends also were marked by a lot of conflict, and they tended to associate themselves with others who bullied. It appears as if no one is benefiting from bullying, although many would suggest that being the bully has no negative effects. It is difficult if not, impossible to judge which group is more advantaged, and safe to concluded that someone should put a stop to this.

However, this form of hazing is difficult to expel because most likely everyone is a guilty of gossiping, and name calling. Whether done intentionally or not social bullying can not be as easily controlled and regulated as school attire. The recent spring of school shootings such as the Columbine incident in 1999, is arguably the worst of its kind recent times. Both Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were victims of bullying, their school experience being the main cause for their murder spree. The Anti-Bullying Alliance, as shown on the right, was founded in 1992 by the National Children’s Bureau and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, has made an attempt to minimize and ultimately prevent the amount of bullying children incur. The alliance believes that by sharing information and encouraging research to identify what works, they can provide children a safer school environment. Thus far, the Anti-Bullying Alliance has succeeded in their quest, and has seen a marked decrease in the number of bullying cases reported by children. In addition to this program, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Germany have created an interactive role play game which aims to help children to cope with bullying at schools. The game allows for children to witness scenarios without having to be directly involved.

The evidence is clear, bullying, whether being the perpetrator or the victim, in childhood has long term negative effects. Perhaps the country can take and example from our English cousins and establish a national anti-bullying program. Such a program may lead to a reduction if not an elimination of school shoots. Early detection and prevention is possibly the solution to this problem. This brings forth a many questions, such as how early is early detection? Will such a program aid the 5.7 million who are already victims? These questions and concern are valid, but I personally would much rather worry about them after there has been a sincere attempt to stop this problem.