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In Focus: Youth Violence-Bullying
By: Tanya Parker
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A major source of youth violence in Southeast Ohio stems from a perceived childhood habit that some adults refer to as, "kids being kids." But the long term, negative implications of bullying draws concern in Athens County. Experts and anti-bullying advocates work to shed light on a growing problem within the community, and seek ways to prevent and reduce the number of local bullying instances.
Bullying Defined
About 30 percent of adolescents ages 10 to 17 reported being teased or bullied, according to 2012 research by the Center for Disease Control.
Bullying is defined as unwanted, aggressive, repeated behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.
The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time.
The long term negative effect bullying may have on today's youth can be both physical and emotional.
With growing technological advancements and methods of communication, the phenomenon can now occur every second of every day.
School officials and anti-bullying advocates in Southeast Ohio are working together to develop and implement programs of instruction to reduce the number of bullying instances in the region.
These programs aim to educate school employees, students and parents.
Bullying: National and Southeastern Ohio Statistics
Bullying is a nationwide problem.
In order for experts to understand the depth of the problem, annual surveys are distributed to students to collect data.
This data is then used to help respond to bullying, as well as create educational and preventative programs.
Students may complete the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which intends to monitor the health-risk behaviors that contribute to destructive behavior, violence and social problems among youth and adults in the United States.
According to the 2011 survey, 20.1 percent of students had been bullied on school property during the 12 months before the survey, 16.2 percent of students had been electronically bullied, and 5.9 percent of students said they didn’t go to school to avoid being bullied.
Research conducted by stopbullying.gov found that bullying can lead to other violent behavior as well.
Survey responders revealed that 32.8 percent of students in the United States had been in a physical fight one or more times 12 months before taking the survey.
In 2011, the population of Athens County had a total of 26,547 people aged 10 to 24.
When applying the national percentages of youth bullying to Athens County, this could mean that in 2011, about 5,336 kids were bullied at school, 4,301 were bullied electronically and 1,566 students skipped school to avoid being bullied.
If bullying progressed to more violent behavior, it could also mean that about 8,707 students were in a physical altercation one or more times in Athens County.
The Executive Director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Athens County, Tara Gilts, says the organization hopes to reduce these numbers and foster respectful peer-to-peer relationships in the community through peer mentoring.
“We have Bigs that are high school students that are role models to elementary students, so part of our training with our high school kids is that they need to always be aware that they're being observed by their Littles, and they need to be as kind as possible to their peers,” said Gilt.
Big Brothers, Big Sisters is an organization that holds events to help make a positive impact on local youths.
The organization works to put an end to youth disrespect and violence through the relationships built between mentors and mentees.
However, before bullying can be addressed, it must be understood.
Understanding Bullying
Sean Kelbley, the guidance counselor at Morrison-Gordon Elementary and West Elementary schools in Athens said it is not always easy to differentiate bullying from general adolescent horseplay.
According to bullying expert Christine Suniti Bhat, there are specific aspects that must be present in order to call a situation an act of bullying.
"There are three elements that constitute bullying," said Bhat. "One is that there has to be an imbalance of power between the person who's conducting the bullying and the victim or the target. There should be harm that is experienced… and an element of repetition where the aggressive acts are continued repeatedly."
Along with understanding how to recognize bullying as it occurs, victim symptoms may serve as the early warning signs.
Bhat said victims of bullying exhibit symptoms that persist long after the bullying occurs.
Symptoms vary in type and severity depending on the individual, but a sudden change in victim behavior or mood may be an indication that bullying is present.
Symptoms range from emotional symptoms including mood and attitudes as well as physical symptoms.
“Someone whose grades might suddenly start falling off, somebody who previously liked to go to school suddenly starts saying that they don't want to go to school. There might be physical ailments such as nausea, or headaches, or other physical symptoms that might be associated with the stress of being bullied,” said Bhat.
The government initiative to prevent bullying known as stopbullying.gov provides a list of possible warning signs and effects to recognize victims of bullying.
There are also warning signs and effects of those who are doing the bullying.
A strong indicator that an individual may be bullying others is if they exhibit frequent aggression or behavioral problems within school, according to stopbullying.gov.
According to anti-bullying advocates, understanding bullying includes recognizing warning signs and symptoms of both victims and bullies.
Combating Bullying In Southeast Ohio
Experts agree education is key to reducing or preventing bullying.
At West and Morrison-Gordon Elementary schools, Kelbley works directly with students to teach them how to recognize and effectively stop bullying.
Kelbley said targeted, individual work can combat the issue.
He provides classroom instruction using lessons from the Second Step program, which seeks to teach adolescents appropriate emotional and social responses.
“Second Step is marketed as a violence prevention curriculum," said Kelbley. "Some of the issues that it addresses are impulse control, regulation of strong feelings, development of empathy – which I think is key to any real understanding of bullying and its impact, – problem-solving."
He also has group lunch sessions with various grade levels to open communication between students and faculty.
This year, Kelbley uses Say Something, a book written by Peggy Moss, that teaches students what bullying is and how to be more than a bystander.
The story is written from the perspective of a young girl who learns that feeling sorry for kids who are teased is not enough, and that an adolescent needs to raise the issue to an adult in order to stop it.
Principal at Morrison-Gordon Elementary School, Penny McDowell, said school programs intended to prevent bullying match expectations required by the state of Ohio.
“We make sure whatever we talk about through the office matches the district policy, which matches the revised code," said McDowell. "But what I think we're more strategic about [is] trying to minimize bullying actions to begin with."
These expectations are found in the Ohio Revised Code.
The state board of education must provide a model policy to prevent harassment and bullying so that school districts can develop their own.
Within each policy, Ohio school districts are required to provide a definition of bullying, a procedure to address situations in which bullying occurs, both of which should appear in a school's student handbook, as well as age-appropriate instruction about the school's policy on bullying.
School districts may also provide training or workshops on the district's bullying policy for school employees or volunteers, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
At the time of this article, Morrison-Gordon Elementary school neither lists bullying as a punishable offense in the student handbook, nor provides information on school policy regarding bullying or harassment.
Cyberbullying
In today’s technology driven world, bullying can extend outside the classroom.
Cyberbullying has become a prominent source of bullying in the lives of adolescents.
"Probably, the most damaging piece about cyberbullying is that it is something that the victim cannot get away from," said Bhat. "It's 24/7 because they're bullied when they're in school, cyberbullied when they're in school. They go back home and technology continues to be accessible to them and they continue to be cyberbullied in that way."
Cyberbullying can occur through text messages, emails or social networking sites.
Cyberbullying may occur simultaneously with active, in-person bullying or it can serve as the primary route.
Unlike in-person bullying, cyberbullying provides an easy path to potential endless bullying, according to Bhat.
Bullies can send or post information anonymously, can distribute it quickly and inappropriate content may not be easily retracted after it is posted.
McDowell and Kelbley said faculty at Morrison-Gordon Elementary school attempt to prevent cyberbullying by banning cellphones during school hours and creating content restrictions on school computers.
However, monitoring cyberbullying is not 100 percent accurate because technology usage continues to grow, which makes preventative procedures difficult to enforce.
Steps to Prevent Bullying
The federal initiative to prevent bullying, or StopBullying.gov, provides tips about how adults can stop bullying:
• First, intervene immediately.
• Next, separate those involved and make sure every one is safe. Address any immediate medical or mental health concerns as well.
• Stay calm and reassure those involved.
• Model respectful behavior during intervention and in daily life. Quick and consistent responses can stop bullying over time.
If immediate intervention does not remedy or stop a bullying issue, stopbullying.gov provides other ways to get help.