Effects of Bullying

The 4 categories of bullying

Physical victimization

Verbal victimization

Social exclusion (exclusion from peer group)

Attacks on property (damaging mobile phone, backpack, etc)

Hatred in the Hallways (2001) The bullying of gay and

lesbian students in the USGay and lesbian students are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual young people. Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst gay and lesbian teens.

28% of gay and lesbian high-schools students dropped out of school because of harassment regarding their sexual orientation.

45% of gay males and 20% of lesbians report having been bullied in high school as a result of their social orientation.

26% of gay and lesbian youths report leaving home due to conflicts with their families over their sexual orientation.

53% of students report hearing homophobic comments made by school staff.

Snyder (2003) Are bullied victims more angry or

depressed? A longitudinal study observing 266 children from kindergarten to elementary school interacting on the playground was conducted.

Findings: Boys who had experienced bullying were more likely to become depressed and demonstrate antisocial behaviour. Being aggressive back may be a short term symptom but in the long term, it increased the risk of being victimized by peers.

Olweus (1992) Effects of bullying on its

victimsShort-term Long-termAngerDepression Higher rate of illnessLower grades Suicidal thoughts and feelings

Lingering feelings of anger and bitternessDifficulty trusting peopleFear/avoidance of new social situationsIncreased tendency to be a lonerLow self-esteem

Delville (2002) Bullying and Hamsters

Male pubescent hamsters were placed for an hour a day for 2 weeks into an adult hamster’s cage.

The older hamsters responded with hostility to the adolescent males, biting and chasing them.

A control group of adolescent male hamsters were simply placed in an empty, unfamiliar cage for one hour a day for 2 weeks.

Findings: Cortisol, a stress hormone was high on the first day for both groups of hamsters. However, it remained high for the bullied hamsters.

Carney and Hazler (2007) Bullying,

cortisol, and humans94 sixth grade students between the age of 9 and 14 were studied.

Their saliva was studied (to measure cortisol levels) as wells as questionnaires which asked about their experience of being bullied or watching someone begin bullied.

Cortisol levels were measured in the morning as well as just before lunchtime.

Findings: Bullying does increase cortisol levels but those who experienced long-term bullying have low levels of cortisol.

This condition is linked with chronic fatigue, pain, and PTSD.

Mynard et al. (2000) Bullying and PTSD

The effects of bullying on mental health was studied on 331 adolescent students in England.

Findings: 40% of the students had experienced some kinds of bullying during their schooling. Social exclusion was most likely to lead to PTSD.

Wang et al. (2010) Which is worse-cyber or face to face bullying?

Victims of cyber bullying had higher levels of depression than victims of face to face bullying.

Cyber bullying seems to be particularly hurtful because victims do not know how many people have seen it.