As noted by the photos and the facial expressions above, bullies do, indeed, terrorize others. Personality characteristics of a child who bullies are those who possess social power and are overly concerned about their popularity and tend to desire to dominate and be in charge of others. These children are highly aggressive and easily frustrated. Children who are bullies have little parental attention or discipline and may live within a dysfunctional family system. In general, these children have a negative perception of others and view violence as a normal and acceptable behavior. These children have friends who are bullies and find it difficult to follow rules and have little respect for authority. Unfortunately, a childhood bully finds it most difficult to identify with the emotions and feelings of others, peers as well as adults. In essence, they lack any form of compassion for others.
Examples of such bulling behavior on the playground are attacking another child physically or verbally such as name calling or excluding a child from a group activity. Bullies also make threats, spread rumors and tease excessively. Taunting and threatening to cause harm and damaging a child’s reputation are additional behaviors that hurt the victim of a bully. Physical abuse inflicted by a bully are hitting, punching, spitting, pushing and the destruction of the victim’s possessions. Bullying can occur during or after school hours. Most bullying does happen within the school building or playground but it has been reported to occur on the school bus or in the neighborhood of the victim.
Upon review of the clinical facts about this “little terror” or bully, studies have found that envy and resentment and victimization of bullying themselves may be motives for bullying. By demeaning others, the bully feels empowered. According to clinical research, these children may suffer from depression and personality disorders and impulsive reactions in the use of anger and the utilization of force. In addition, these young bullies may have an addiction to aggressive behaviors and engage in obsessive or rigid actions. These children mistake other’s actions as hostile and they have a need to preserve their self image. Bullying may also result from a genetic predisposition or a brain abnormality. Ineffective discipline and environmental factors such as a stressful home life and hostile siblings do contribute to the development of bullying children. Bullies may be inclined toward negativity and some perform poorly academically and may perceive school as a hostile environment with unfriendly peers.
My future posts will continue with the topic of bullies and how the victims of these little terrors are permanently effected by the actions of bullies . Other posts will present interventions in dealing with this behavioral dysfunction and effect change in helping to understand and reduce childhood bullying. I will also define and summarize cyber bullying in other posts and introduce a children’s novel, NICKI NICE’S BULLY, which will be published this summer.
Please do let us hear your voice and what you are feeling regarding these topics.
Dr. Fran White Wants to Know What You Are Feeling? 