Bullying's Effect On Mental Health
What is considered bullying?
Bullying is an repetitive, unwanted behavior expressed from one individual to another individual. These behaviors usually have to be aggressive to be considered bullying. The main types of bullying are verbal, social, and physical bullying. Verbal bullying is being verbally mean to another person. Social bullying is hurting the relationships and reputations of others. Physical bullying is hurting another person.
What causes bullying?
People bully for many different reasons. However, many of these reasons usually stem from their own mental insecurities and trauma. These are some of the reasons people bully others:
They try to mask their insecurity by putting down others
They aren’t treated properly at home and mirror the behavior
They try to fit in by bullying others
They can’t control their emotions
What are the effects of bullying?
Bullying affects the victim and the bully. When bullied, the victim may develop depression, anxiety, health complaints, low self confidence, and mental health issues. All of these may be carried into adulthood.
The bullies, on the other hand, also experience negative effects from bullying. However, these are mainly reflected in adulthood. Some of these negative effects are alcohol and drug abuse, criminal convictions, and abuse towards their spouse and children.
Statistics
Bullying is a common occurrence in school, and has extremely negative effects on the individuals involved. These are statistics provided by the National Bullying Prevention Center.
How often bullying happens:
20.2% of students report being bullied
41% of students who were bullied believed that the bullying would happen again.
46% of bullied students notified an adult about the incident.
The main reasons for being bullied include physical appearance, race/ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation.
Effects of bullying:
27% of bullied students reported that bullying has a negative effect on how they feel about themselves
19% of bullied students reported that bullying has a negative effect on their relationships with friends and family
19% of bullied students reported that bullying has a negative effect on their school work
14% of bullied students reported that bullying has a negative effect on their physical health
Written by: Kevin