On this blog I will finish my
analysis on bullies as discussed within the journal article “Bullying in
School: An Overview of Types, Effects, Family Characteristics, and Intervention
Strategies”, by Paul R. Smokowski and Kelly Holland Kopasz.
On this occasion I will discuss
the effects of bullying, in regards to those exhibited by the bullies
themselves. According to Smokowski and Kopasz, bullying has been linked to
mental health difficulties, including: attention-deficit disorder, depression,
and oppositional-conduct disorder. In fact, bullies have been linked to engage
in excessive drinking other substance use more frequently than victims and
bully-victims. According to Smokowski and Kopasz, “children who bully others
often experience long-term effects and consequences as a result of their
bullying.” For example, the National School Safety Center has reported reports
that a high number of bullies under achieve in school and perform below their
potential within employment settings. In addition, other studies have found
that by the age of thirty, bullies are more likely to have committed more
criminal offenses and traffic violations than their less aggressive peers.
Adult bullies are also more likely to display aggression towards their spouse
and are more likely to use “severe physical punishment” on their children. The
most concerning research finding reported by Smokowski and Kopasz is that
“research suggests that adults who were bullies as children tend to have
children who become bullies.”
In blogs of the past, I have referred
to bullying as a “gateway” form of violence. In those blogs I have pointed out
how bullying seems to serve as a starting point for other forms of aggression
that are increasingly violent. This article also hints towards this tendency
when it states that bullies often have “a positive attitude [towards] physical
aggression” and that bullies are more likely to commit criminal offenses in the
future. However, this article has also made
me realize that bullying not only serves as a “gateway” form of violence, but
rather serves as a “gateway” for a variety of social problems. What is
particularly concerning is that these social problems do not simply disappear
as some individuals tend to think. As I have previously pointed out, with the
passage of time, bullying and its accompanying or resulting problems seem to
become so engrained within our daily lives that they become part of our normal
daily lives, leading to a phenomenon which I have referred to as
“normalization.” Interestingly,
Smokowski and Kopasz seem to hint that parents may bear part of the blame or at
least have some influence over bullying. Perhaps anti-bullying strategies
should focus on strengthening family bonds, especially with bullies who are
children.
