Here are even more facts about bullying.

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Are There Different Types of Victims?

There are two types of victims. Parents and school personnel should avoid speaking about these characteristics as weaknesses.

_{Typical Characteristics of Passive or Submissive Students who are Bullied:}

~ They are generally quiet, cautious, sensitive, and perhaps easily moved to tears.
~ They are insecure and have little self-confidence (negative self-esteem), perhaps as the result of bullying.
~ If boys, they are usually physically weaker than their classmates, particularly the bullies, and they do not like to fight.
~ They have few or no friends, perhaps as a result of bullying.
~ They may be afraid of getting hurt or hurting themselves.
~ They find it easier to associate with adults than peers.

_{Typical Characteristics of Provocative Students who are Bullied:}

~ Only 15 to 20 percent of victims are of this type.
~ They are often bullied more often and by more peers than passive or submissive victims.
~ They have tempers and may try to fight back if bullied, but usually without success.
~ They are restless, clumsy, immature, unfocused, and generally perceived as
awkward or tiresome. Some are hyperactive; they may be fidgety, impulsive, or
restless and have difficulty concentrating.
~ They may have reading and writing problems.
~ They may be disliked by adults because of their often irritating behavior.
~ They may try to bully weaker students and therefore may be both victims and
bullies.
~ Some are popular, and some are not. Their popularity may decrease in higher grades, but it never reaches the lowest popularity levels.

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_{What are the Warning Signs that a Child is Being Bullied?}

~ Sudden decrease in school attendance or skipping certain classes
~ Decline in quality of academic performance
~ Difficulty concentrating in class and easily distracted
~ Wants to take a different route to school or different transportation to school
~ Sudden lack of interest in school-sponsored activities and events
~ Seems happy on weekends but unhappy and preoccupied or tense on Sundays
~ Uses “victim” body language: hunches shoulders, hangs head, will not look people in the eye, and backs off from others
~ Suddenly prefers the company of adults
~ Frequent illness or fakes illness (headaches, stomachaches, pains)
~ Nightmares and insomnia
~ Comes home with unexplainable scratches and bruises
~ Suddenly develops a stammer or stutter
~ Angry, irritable, disruptive, aggressive, quick-tempered, and fights back (but always loses)
~ Cautious, clingy, nervous, anxious, worried, fearful, and insecure
~ Overly concerned about personal safety; spends a lot of time and effort thinking or worrying about getting safely to and from school and getting around in the school (to and from lunch, to and from recess, to and from the bathroom, to and from the lockers); wants to stay in at night and prefers to stay home on weekends
~ Talks about avoiding certain areas of the school
~ Carries protection devices (knife, box opener, fork, gun)
~ Frequently asks for extra money, saying it is for lunch or school supplies
~ Possessions (books, money, clothing) are often “lost,” damaged, or destroyed without an explanation
~ Sudden change in behavior (bed-wetting, nail-biting, tics)
~ Cries easily or often, becomes emotionally distraught and has extreme mood swings
~ Blames self for problems or difficulties; feels defective and inadequate.
~ Talks about being made fun of, laughed at, picked on, teased, put down, pushed around, threatened, kicked, hit, called names, or students telling lies about them, gossiping about them, or excluding them from a group, and other bullying behaviors
~ Talks about not being able to stand up for himself or herself
~ Expresses lack of self value and self confidence
~ Talks about dropping out of school
~ Expresses lack of trust in and respect for school personnel
~ Suddenly starts bullying other students, siblings, or children in the neighborhood
~ Becomes overly aggressive, rebellious, and unreasonable
~ Sudden loss of respect for authority figures
~ Seeks the wrong friends in the wrong places
~ Talks about joining or forming a cult
~ Sudden interest in violent movies, video games, and books
~ Talks about running away
~ Talks about feeling depressed
~ Talks about or attempts suicide
~ Self harms (cutting, no eating, overeating)
~ Drastic change in appearance

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_{What are the Warning Signs that a Child Might Bully Someone?}

~ Enjoys feeling powerful and in control (Olweus, 1993)
~ Seeks to dominate or manipulate others (Olweus, 1993)
~ May be popular with other students, who envy his or her power
~ Is physically larger or makes himself or herself seem larger than his or her peers; exhibits physical or psychological power, or both
~ Is impulsive (Olweus, 1993)
~ Exhibits low tolerance of frustration (Olweus, 1993)
~ Loves to win at everything; hates to lose at anything and is a poor winner; can be Boastful
~ Seems to derive satisfaction or pleasure from others’ fear, discomfort, or pain
~ Seems overly concerned with others “disrespecting” him or her; equates respect with fear
~ Expects to be “misunderstood,” “disrespected,” and picked on; attacks before he or she can be attacked
~ Interprets ambiguous or innocent acts as purposeful and hostile; uses these as excuses to strike out at others verbally or physically
~ Seems to have little or no empathy or compassion for others (Olweus, 1993)
~ Seems unable or unwilling to see things from another person’s perspective
~ Seems willing to use and abuse other people to get what he or she wants
~ Defends his or her negative actions by insisting that others “deserve it,” “asked for it,” or “provoked it”; often describes a conflict as someone else’s “fault”
~ Is good at hiding negative behaviors or doing them where adults cannot see them
~ Gets excited when conflicts arise between others
~ Is more likely to get into trouble, smoke, drink, and fight (Nansel et al., 2001; Ericson, 2001)
~ Stays cool during conflicts in which he or she is directly involved
~ Exhibits little or no emotion when talking about his or her part in a conflict
~ Blames other people for his or her problems
~ Refuses to accept responsibility for his or her negative behaviors
~ Shows little or no remorse for his or her negative behaviors
~ Lies in an attempt to stay out of trouble
~ “Tests” authority by committing minor infractions, then waits to see what will happen
~ Disregards or breaks school or class rules
~ Is generally defiant or oppositional toward adults
~ Seeks, even craves, attention; seems just as satisfied with negative attention as positive attention
~ Attracts more than the usual amount of negative attention from others and is therefore disciplined more often than most other students
~ Tends to be confident, with high self-esteem (Nansel et al., 2001)
~ Seems mainly concerned with his or her own pleasure and well-being
~ Seems antisocial or lacks social skills
~ Has difficulty fitting into groups; may experience loneliness (Ericson, 2001)
~ Has a close network of friends (actually “henchmen” or “lieutenants”) who
follow along with whatever he or she wants to do
~ Has average or above-average performance in school (Olweus, 1993); however, some studies say they may do poorly (Schwartz, 2006; Ericson, 2001)
~ May have problems at school or at home
~ Lacks coping skills
~ Average in anxiety and uncertainty
~ May be a victim of bullying (Nansel et al., 2001; Crawford, 2002)

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_{What Does the Research Say about the Response of Adults who are Aware of the Bullying?}

~ Forty percent of bullied students in elementary and 60 percent of bullied students in middle school report that teachers intervene in bullying incidents “once in a while” or “almost never” (Olweus, 1993; Charach, Pepler, & Ziegler, 1995).
~ Twenty-five percent of teachers see nothing wrong with bullying or put-downs and consequently intervene in only 4 percent of bullying incidents (Cohn & Canter, 2003).
~ Researchers Craig and Pepler (1995) have found that adults are often unaware of bullying problems (Mullin-Rindler, 2002).
~ In an initial survey of students in fourteen Massachusetts schools, over 30 percent believed that adults did little or nothing to help with bullying (Mullin-Rindler, 2002)
~ Almost 25 percent of more than twenty-three hundred girls surveyed felt that they did not know three adults they could go to for support if they were bullied (Girl Scout Research Institute, 2003).
~ Students often feel that adult intervention is infrequent and unhelpful, and fear that telling adults will only bring more harassment from bullies (Banks 1997; Cohn & Canter, 2003).

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