Roles In Bullying
This section provides an overview of roles inherent in the bullying dynamic and how these roles are related to peer social groups. Youth can be involved in the bullying dynamic as a bully, victim, bully-victim, or bystander. Sociometric status provides a window to view child and adolescent peer relationships and hierarchical group formation. A detailed discussion of sociometric status and its relationship to bullying is provided. An in-depth discussion of theoretical explanations for why bullying happens is provided, applying several theories from evolutionary psychology and sociology. Implications for practitioners are also provided.
Bullying is a complex dynamic with multiple participants. Figure 2.1 is a drawing made by a sixth grade boy about his experience being bullied. The drawing expertly captures the multiple roles inherent in the bullying dynamic. The victim is clearly in a powerless position, on the floor, begging for his book bag to be returned. He is experiencing public humiliation, pleading for the bully to stop. What are the psychological consequences of this type of interpersonal traumatic event? The abuse is carried out in front of the victims’ peers who cheer the bully on, except for one potential friend willing to help him up. Will his social relationships ever heal; will his sense of self-esteem and personal efficacy to impact his environment develop? The victim cannot even trust the adult in the room, the teacher on the right-hand side, who is saying “oh Lord” and not intervening in any effective way. It is likely that the emotional impact of this event will linger in the victim’s mind for months, years, or possibly decades.
The perpetrator in the drawing is central, powerful, not just standing, but with arms wide and savoring his plundered backpack. He has a helper and a cheering section of peers, an audience watching his dominating performance. What are the consequences for this bully perpetrator? He does not fear the teacher who wants to avoid dealing with this behavior. The harsher he becomes, the more power he reaps from the event. This is a drama where he is the star.
The crowd of bystanders provides an electric energy for the bullying event; it is a social event with winners and losers, which raises the stakes dramatically for both bullies and victims. This is a social process; one that can hardly be avoided if you are a student in that classroom or that school. A small minority of one student offers to help the victim as a prosocial bystander. The main negative bystander contributes to the bully perpetrator’s power in tormenting the victim (e.g., “Crybaby! Stop crying, little girl!”). The rest of the class laughs or cheers, embracing the experience, or, embodied by the teacher, tries to avoid the scene. All of these actors experience consequences that impact their personal psychology, their social processes, and the shared context. In this chapter, we explore these roles within the bullying dynamic and theories to help explain why bullying occurs and is so hard to eradicate.
Roles in the Bullying Dynamic
Youth can be actively involved in the bullying dynamic as a perpetrator (i.e., bullying others), a victim (i.e., bullied by others), or a bully-victim (i.e., alternates between bullying others and being a victim) or more passively involved as a bystander who offers varying degrees of support to the perpetrator or victim. Regardless of a child’s role in the bullying dynamic, the presence of bullying in a school has a negative impact on the entire student body, with the most pernicious impact being on those students who are most directly involved in the bullying.
Youth who bully others are typically aggressive. However, it is important to remember that this does not just refer to physical aggression, but also includes verbal and relational aggression as well. Relationally aggressive children and adolescents who bully others might never physically harm a peer, but their malicious rumors, spiteful looks, and pernicious whispers can do just as much harm as a slap in the face. youth who bully are also often powerful; this power is social and comes from relegating the victim to a lower social standing, but also comes from other sources as well. For example, physically larger youth often bully others, thus physical size provides a source of power. Having a lot of money, which provides access to the best clothing and technology, is also a source of power that might give youth the confidence to bully others.