Bullying Myths and Facts:

Myth: “Bullying is just, stage, a normal part of

life. I went through it my kids will too. ”
What is Bullying?
Bullying is a conscious, willful, deliberate, hos- Fact: Bullying is not “normal” or socially accept-
tile and repeated behaviour by one or more peo- able behaviour. We give bullies power by our ac-
ple, which is intended to harm others. Bullying ceptance of this behaviour.
takes many forms, and can include may differ-
ent behaviours, such as: Myth: “If I tell someone, it will just make it
• physical violence and attacks worse.”
• verbal taunts, name-calling and put-downs
• threats and intimidation Fact: Research shows that bullying will stop
• extortion or stealing of money and posses- when adults in authority and peers get involved .
sions
• exclusion from the peer group
Myth: “Just stand up for yourself and hit them
Bullying is the assertion of power through ag- back”
gression. Its forms change with age: school
playground bullying, sexual harassment. gang Fact: While there are some times when people
attacks, date violence, assault, marital violence, can be forced to defend themselves, hitting back
child abuse, workplace harassment and elder usually makes the bullying worse and increases
abuse (Pepler and Craig, 1997) the risk for serious physical harm.

“Bullying is not about anger . It is not a conflict

to be resolved, it’s about contempt –a powerful Myth: “Bullying is a school problem, the teachers
feeling of dislike toward someone considered to should handle it”
be worthless, inferior or undeserving of respect. www.bullying.org is a multiple award-winning, non-
Contempt comes with three apparent psycho- Fact: Bullying is a broader social problem that of- profit Web site that was created to help people
ten happens outside of schools, on the street, at around the world deal with the issues of bullying and
logical advantages that allow kids to harm oth-
taunting. www.bullying.org is a supportive interna-
ers without feeling empathy, compassion or shopping centers, the local pool, summer camp tional community where people can learn that they
shame. These are: a sense of entitlement, that and in the adult workplace.” are NOT alone in being bullied and taunted, that be-
they have the right to hurt or control others, an ing bullied and taunted is NOT their fault and that
intolerance towards difference, and a freedom to they CAN do something positive about it.
exclude, bar, isolate and segregate others” Myth: “People are born bullies” People can contribute their personal stories, poems,
(Barbara Coloroso “The Bully, the Bullied and images, oral stories (audio files), music, animations
Fact: Bullying is a learned behaviour and behav- and movies. In order to protect contributors’ privacy
the Bystander)
and security, no last names of young people, or per-
iours can be changed. sonal contact information is published or shared with
anyone else.

www.bullying.org also has two moderated, online

support groups, one for youth and one for adults
 -85% of bullying episodes occur in the context of a
Bullying Facts:
peer group -(Atlas and Pepler, 1997, Craig and Pepler,
1997)
-6% of 4,743 children in grades 1 to 8 admitted bully-
ing others “more than once or twice” in the past six
-83% of students indicate that watching bullying
weeks -(Pepler et al., 1997) need to dominate others. -(Olweus, 1987)
makes them feel uncomfortable. -(Pepler et al., 1997)
-15% of children reported that they had been victim- -Girls who bully tend to be physically weaker than
-Bullying stops in less than 10 seconds, 57% of the
ized at the same rate -(Pepler et al., 1997) other girls in their class. -(Roland, 1989)
time when peers intervene on behalf of the victim. -
(Pepler et al., 1997)
-2% reported being both bullies and victims (bully/ -Bullies have little empathy for their victims and
victims) -(Pepler et al., 1997) show little remorse about bullying. -(Olweus, 1987)
-Boys are more likely than girls to be drawn into bul-
lying episodes and actively participate. -(Craig and
-Bullying occurs in school playgrounds every 7 min- -Boys and girls are equally likely to report being vic-
Pepler., 1997), (Salmivalli et al., 1996)
utes and once every 25 minutes in class –(Pepler et al., timized -(Pepler at al, 1977)
1997)
-In playground observations, peers intervened in sig-
-Victimization decreases across grade levels: 26% of
nificantly more episodes than adults did (11% of epi-
-Boys report more bullying than girls, but the discrep- grades 1-3 children report victimization compared to
sodes versus 4%). -(Craig and Pepler., 1997)
ancy between boys’ and girls’ rates of bullying is not 15% of grades 4-6 and 12% of grades 7-8 children. -
as great in playground observations –(Pepler et al., (Pepler et al., 1997)
-Bullies often come from homes that are neglectful and
1997)
hostile and use harsh punishment. Bullying may be
-Children in lower grades are more likely to be vic-
learned by observing high levels of conflict between
-Boys report more physical forms of bullying: girls tims of same-age bullies. Younger students experi-
parents. Care needs to be given so that they do not
tend to bully in indirect ways, such as gossiping and ence more direct bullying, whereas older students
model bullying for their children. -(Olweus. 1993)
excluding.-(Pepler et al., 1997) experience more indirect bullying. -(Olweus, 1993)
-Victims often keep their problems a secret: They feel
-11 to 12 year old students reported bullying others -Research has not supported the popular stereotype
they should handle bullying themselves; they worry
more than younger (9-10 year old) and older (13 to 14 that victims have unusual physical traits. -(Olweus,
about the bully’s revenge or other children’s disap-
year old) students -(Pepler et al., 1997) 1991)
proval: and/or they think that adults can do little to
help them. -(Garfalo et al., 1987) , (Olweus, 1991)
-Bullies tend to be hyperactive, disruptive, impulsive -Victims often report low self-esteem. likely because
and overactive -(Lowenstein, 1978), (Olweus, 1987) of repeated exposure to victimization. -(Besag, 1989)
-Bullying is reduced in a school if the principal is com-
mitted to reducing bullying. Strategies -(Charach et
-Bullies are generally aggressive towards their peers, Bullying Facts –cont’d:
al., 1995)
teachers, parents, siblings, and others. -(Olweus, 1991)
-Both boys and girls who are victimized, report
-Bullying occurs when there is little supervision or
Bullying Facts –cont’d: symptoms of depression, such as sadness, and loss of
when large groups of children engage in rough and
interest in activities -(Slee, 1995) (Craig, 1997)
tumble play or competitive sports . -(Murphy et al.,
-Bullies tend to be assertive and easily provoked They
1983)
are attracted to situations with aggressive content and -Bully/victims are the most insecure, the least like-
have positive attitudes about aggression. -(Stephenson able, and the most unsuccessful in school -
-Bullying is often hidden from teachers. Teachers’ lack of
and Smith, 1989) (Stephenson and Smith, 1989) awareness is evident in playground observations in which
teachers intervened to stop only one in twenty-five (4%) of
-Boys who bully are physically stronger and have a -Bully/victims are often strong and easily provoked. - the bullying episodes (Craig and Pepler, 1997)
(Besag, 1989)

-Children who are bully-victims appear to be at the

greatest risk for adjustment difficulties -(Craig and
Pepler, 1995)