Introduction
Bullying has been a rising issue that existed for hundreds of years. However, in the last decades, time has changed and there is an increasing recognition that anyone from any age can be affected by bullying. It has become a major problem in our society as it destroys self-confidence at a young age and results in yearly thousands of suicides. According to the head of communication at The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Egypt (2018), about 70% of children in Egypt, ranging between 13-15 years old, are being bullied on regular basis.
The American Psychological Association (APA) defined bullying as any form of repeated and intentionally aggressive behavior that results in others’ injury or discomfort. The act of bullying may be physical or psychological; physical bullying includes hitting, kicking or pushing, while psychological bullying includes calling names, teasing or taunting (Bullock, 2012). It is important to ask ourselves, what are the possible causes of bullying among children, what are the related consequences, and how could one prevent it. Researches show that there is no single cause of bullying. However, jealousy towards friends, in addition to the lack of parents’ concern for their child, can be a major cause of bullying among children (Nachiappan et al., 2018).
Moreover, researchers have found that those who are being bullied can experience negative psychological and academic effects. In order to prevent this phenomenon, the Egyptian government has made a Child’s Hotline (UNICEF, 2015). Bullying is a common problem a lot of people deal with. This paper presents the causes, effects as well as some possible solutions to this problem.
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Literature Review
According to the latest research by Ditch the Label Organization (2018), 1 in 2 people have experienced bullying before their 20th birthday.
Causes of Bullying
Bullying is a widespread form of violence that is caused due to the child’s jealousy or frustration or due to the lack of parents’ concern toward their child. The difference between people is generally a neutral characteristic, but this difference often leads to jealousy between children. It occurs as a result of the comparison to others and seeking perfectionism. Competition occurs in all aspects of lives including school success, sports, and skills. Some children envy others for the advantages that they want to have, they can’t accept the success of others as it makes them feel inferior and lose their perfection. In order to gain their perfectionism and close the gap between what others have and what they want, they tend to bully.
A violent household can be another cause of bullying. As well as the lack of love and affection that they don’t receive from their parents and the feelings of being rejected …
A survey made by The World Health Organization (WHO) found that 60% of the students in Egypt are being bullied by those who are not spending enough time with their parents.
Consequences of Bullying
Researches indicate that bullying has serious long-term negative effects on the victim. Researchers found that those who are being bullied can experience negative psychological and academic effects. The psychological effects of bullying include anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. A study made by Houbre, Tarquinio, Thuiller, and Hergott (2006) shows that those who are victims of bullying have the lowest self-esteem. In fact, a serious problem with self-esteem caused by bullying can lead to suicide (Houbre et al., 2006). The consequences of bullying extend into adulthood, in fact, adults who have a history of being bullied as children suffer from higher rates of anxiety and depression (Garwood, 2016). Depression is affecting more than 350 million people of all ages (WHO, 2012).
Researches consistently show that bullying can have a negative impact on the academic level. A study led by the professors of psychology at UCLA, Juvonen, Schacter & Espinoza (2018), shows that bullying and low academic achievement are frequently linked. They are quoted saying, “students who are repeatedly bullied receive poorer grades and participate less in class discussions … students may get mislabeled as low achievers because they do not want to speak up in class for fear of getting bullied”. They also claimed that “Once students get labeled as ‘dumb,’ they get picked on and perform even worse”.
