Whitmore Literature Review 2

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Whitmore, Jacob
Cook, Lisa
Eng.1201.508
03/20/2021
How does bullying affect those being bullied, what are the lasting consequences, what needs to
be done to prevent bullying, and what are the causes of it?
Bullying has been a prevalent issue amongst those in school, and even in the workplace. It spans
every age group, and although it may be more prevalent in certain groups, it is possible to see it
amongst any age, ethnic, gender, and any other groups. This poses the question of why bullying
takes place, how it affects the victims, and how to deal with/prevent it.
Bullying has been a problem in human history for a long time, but has not gotten much attention
until the last few decades. It has become even more prevalent in the past couple decades due to
the use of online chats, forums, and social media. It used to be one could escape their bullies
when they’re at home, but with the use of social media the bullying can continue anywhere the
victim has access to the web. This only increases the difficulty of preventing bullying and even
gives the bullies more of the attention they seek.
In recent studies it has been found out that twenty-eight percent of youths in grades 6-12 are
victims of bullying (Dryden-Edwards). It has been proven that boys tend to be the ones engaging
in bullying 60% of the time, but also tend to victimize both genders, and women tend to target
other women 80% of the time (Dryden-Edwards). It has also been determined that teachers often
underestimate how often bullying occurs because they only see about 4% of it even though about
30% of high school kids have admitted to being bullied at some point (Dryden-Edwards).
In a study reported by the “Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal”, the common factors in
those that engaged in bullying were age, gender, moral maturity, and witnessing a violent crime
(Inanici, Sinem). The main definition of bullying is a deliberate, repeated actions among
children, but is also commonly seen in adults in the workplace, and can also present itself in the
form of physical contact, words, the use of body language in a negative way, and the exclusion
of someone from a peer group (Inanici, Sinem). Being the victim of bullying enhances the
possibility of internalizing pain, developing negative behavioral issues, and poor self-esteem.
Some of the negative behavioral issues one may develop from being the victim of bullying are
anxiety, depression, and withdrawn behaviors (Inanici, Sinem). It is through the attachment
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developmental phase where most of the root work for bullying takes place. If a child experiences
neglect and hostile situations during the attachment phase they are more likely to interpret
ambiguous cues as threatening, aggressive behavior, and negative beliefs (Inanici, Sinem).
Attachment related anxiety has been shown to negatively affect compassion, personal distress,
and altruistic behavior, while giving the child attention and proper guidance with their feeling
nurses a more care-oriented behavior later on in life.
Another cause of bullying stems from the inability for accepting those who are different. In
public high schools 14% of student have claimed to be bullied due to their race, ethnicity, and
national origin, as well as 6% being bullied for their actual or perceived immigration status, and
7% due to religious beliefs (McPhillips, Deidre). Although this is an issue around the world,
bullying of those that are different in the previous mentioned way is significantly more common
in the US. There has also been a link between bullying and behaviors that risk ones long term
health, such as drinking and smoking (McPhillips, Diedre). These behavioral risks are more
prevalent in those that have been bullied for their differences by up to double for smoking, and
an 11% increase for drinking than those that are bullied for other reasons. There is also an
increase in drug use (McPhillips, Diedre).
A major reason for teens that have been the victim of bullying to develop drug and other health
risk problems is due to the fact that their prefrontal cortex is still developing, which is used in
decision making, and combining that with the stress of bullying and discrimination, it’s no
wonder risky behavior such as that would increase (McPhillips, Diedre). It is believed that
bullying among adults is caused by a lack of a parental figure in their early developmental phase
causing them to not develop compassionate behavior and an understanding of their own feelings,
Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, extraversion, and agreeableness, or the need to fit in
with groups even at the expense of others (Daderman, Ragnestal).
One of the most effective methods to prevent bullying from developing in children and adults is
proper and stable parenting from a young age. The development of a warm, positive interest, and
involvement home and school environment can help lessen bullying in school and later on in life,
as well as firm limits on unacceptable behavior, consistent use of non-physical punishment, and
having adult that act as positive role models and take an authoritative role (APA). The goal of
these methods is to reduce the opportunity for bullying, as well as the potential reward structure
bullying tends to cause (APA).
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Works Cited
APA. “School Bullying is Nothing New, But Psychologists Identify New Ways to Prevent It” .
American Psychological Association, 29 October 2004,
https://www.apa.org/research/action/bullying
Daderman, Anna Maria. Ragnestal-Impola, Carina. “Workplace bullies, not their victims, score
high on the Dark Triad and Extraversion, and low on Agreeableness and Honesty-
Humility”. Heliyon, Elsevier, 2019, https://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?
vid=4&sid=f4e66221-c3f0-41a6-af1c-fe3038cbdc2b%40sdc-v-
sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU
%3d#AN=edsswe.oai.DiVA.org.hv.14592&db=edsswe
Dryden-Eswards, Roxanne MD. “Bullying”. MedicineNet, 15 July 2019,

https://www.medicinenet.com/bullying/article.htm
Inanici, Sinem. “Different Types of Bully Experiences and Their Relationship

with Attachment to Father and Moral Maturity”. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 12
May 2020, https://link-springer-
com.sinclair.ohionet.org/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10560-020-00670-8.pdf
McPhillips, Deidre. “The Hidden Harms of Racial Bullying”. U.S. News, 23 May 2019,
https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2019-05-23/bullying-
victims-more-likely-to-use-drugs-alcohol-analysis-shows

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Dryden-Eswards, Roxanne MD. “Bullying”. MedicineNet, 15 July 2019,

Inanici, Sinem. “Different Types of Bully Experiences and Their Relationship

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