Some Children More Vulnerable to Bullying
From The Thinking Parent newsletter
Researchers looked at three different types of aggression in
the classroom: teasing, threats and physical aggression. Whereas
many socially competent students may deal with these situations
successfully on their own, children with poorer social skills
will likely need adults to intervene.
What the researchers did
Fourth- and fifth-graders (a total of 48) from two elementary
schools in southern California participated in the study. More
than half (60%) were Hispanic, 34% were white and 6% were Asian-
or African-American. The children were primarily from low-
to middle-income families. In addition, 15 teachers participated
in the study.
Children rated other children on popularity by asking for the
three who had the most friends in the class and three who had
the least number of friends in the class. Of the 48 children,
19 were considered popular, 15 unpopular and 14 average in popularity.
Children were presented with 24 scenarios describing situations
in which a child of the same gender teased, threatened or was
physically aggressive to another child (either in the classroom
or on the playground). Children were asked to indicate how severe
each incident was and to indicate what they would do in that
situation. Teachers were administered an almost identical procedure,
except they were asked to evaluate what a student might do in
each scenario.
What the researchers found
Unpopular students viewed teasing as more serious than students
of average popularity, popular students or teachers. For unpopular
students, there were no differences in perceived severity between
teasing, threats and physical aggression — in other words,
all three were perceived as equally serious. In contrast, students
of average popularity, popular students and teachers all rated
threats and physical aggression as more serious than teasing.
Both students and teachers viewed threats on the playground
as more serious than threats in the classroom. The perceived
seriousness of teasing and physical aggression did not differ
depending on location (classroom or playground).
Students were more likely to report that they would seek help
for threats and physical aggression than for teasing. Four primary
reasons were offered for why they would seek help: to end the
conflict, to retaliate (get the other student in trouble), to
uphold a principle of justice or to inform the teacher of the
incident. Five primary reasons were cited for not seeking help:
belief that the incident was not serious enough, use of assertiveness
instead, use of retaliation instead reliance on friends instead
or fear of retribution.
What this means for you
Although the number of students in this study was small, the
findings are interesting and suggest that certain children
are more vulnerable to bullying. Both students and teachers
believed that there are times when seeking help in handling
conflict is justified. This is when incidents are serious,
such as when a student is threatened or actually physically
harmed, especially if on the playground. Threats in the classroom
are not perceived as serious as those on the playground, presumably
because a teacher is present who could handle the situation.
Students who are perceived as unpopular were found to perceive
teasing just as seriously as threats and actual physical harm.
However, these same students indicated they would be less likely
to seek help when teased than if they were threatened or physically
harmed.
Editor’s note: These results regarding unpopular children
suggest there may be some students who are more “sensitive” than
others and to whom teasing is as harmful as threats and physical
harm. However, since they are not likely to ask for help any
more than popular children, school administrators, teachers and
recess aides may have to intervene without being asked to help
out these children. This is especially true on the playground,
where children may feel that help is less available.
Source:
Newman, R.S., & Murray, B.J., August
2005, How students and teachers view the seriousness of peer
harassment; When is
it appropriate to seek help? Journal of Educational Psychology,
97, 347-365.
© Jennifer Hahn
NFO contributor Dr. Jennifer Hahn is the editor of The
Thinking Parent, a quarterly publication
reviewing research of interest to parents: child development
and parenting, pregnancy and childbirth, physical health, mental
health and education. With more than 12 years of experience in
research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Hahn received
her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and
completed her residency at the University of Virginia Health
Sciences Center. She is the mother of two daughters.
