I conducted an interview with a person who was bullied during his high school. Bullying is a repetitive aggressive behavior among school-aged children (Stopbullying.org, 2020). It includes actions, such as threats, physical or verbal abuse, spreading rumors, excluding someone from a group and other similar actions. During the interview, he said that it was an everyday nightmare in which same group of people were assaulting him.
There were several people who were aggressive towards him due to unknown reason. He tried to communicate with bullies, but they did not reply to him. Bullies usually physically stronger, older and often feel privileged compared to their victims (Sampson, 2016, p.12). Moreover, the study on bullying reported that more than a half of those who being bullied have no friends, while 11% of them have more than five friends (Sampson, 2016, p. 12). This suggests that being accepted by a particular group during school years is critical for children’s socialization.
The interviewed person said that he had low confidence to go against bullies. He also lacked communication skills to make friends, as he had difficult family issues that influenced his social behavior. Being excluded from a class and not being supported by his family caused the development of mental health problems. He was not only embarrassed but also experienced psychological distress and social anxiety. It is common for victims of bullying to develop mental health issues, as they were placed in stressful situations and had a constant fear along with depression in some cases (Graham, 2016, p. 138). Now the interviewed person is having a psychological therapy due to which he improved his communication skills. He said that once he accepted his personality and overcome the identity crisis, he became more confident in his words and actions.
Making friends is one of the critical points of growth that allows children to develop communication outside of a family. It is a first step to become an independent person. However, bullying prevents such vital moment of development, harming victims in the deeper psychological level. Therefore, finding solution to tackle the problem of bullying in schools should be prioritize and be examined carefully. Children need protection from not only their family but also from school administration.
When it comes to the communication with adults about bullying, he said that during his teenage years, it seemed that no adult could understand his problems. School-aged children often do not want to be treated as a child by their parents in front of peers (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). This is because reporting about the problems in school may cause even more violence. Often children perceive bullying cases individually and think that adults cannot do anything (Menesini & Salmivalli, 2017). As such, parental role is crucial in recognizing a child’s behavior and mental condition.
Family members should know about how their child react to certain things and me ready to communicate with him. The interviewed person stated that family played the most significant role in building his personality. He felt neglected during almost all his childhood and that is why he had difficulties in making friends. Even now he has problems of accepting his parents and communicating with them.
Overall, bullying is a social process that justifies how dominant figures can exclude weaker ones due to personal or other reasons. It is an abuse that harms a child’s development and causes mental health issues in the future. Moreover, victims of bullying often experience lack of communication; thus, causing difficulties to make friends. Preventive measures of bullying from adults can lead to more violence. Therefore, there is a need of a comprehensive approach to deal with bullying.
References
Graham, S. (2016). Victims of bullying in schools. Theory Into Practice, 55(2), 136-144.
Menesini, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2017). Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and effective interventions. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 22(1), 240-253.
Sampson, R. (2016). Bullying in schools. Center of Problem-Oriented Policing, 1-43.