What Are the Characteristics of Students Who Bully Others?
Students who bully feel positively towards violence, have a need to dominate others, are easily angered, and show little empathy.
Students who bully other students are likely to have several of the following characteristics:
- A positive attitude toward violence and the use of violent means
- Strong need to dominate and subdue other students, to get their own way
- Are impulsive and easily angered
- Show little empathy toward students who are bullied
- Are defiant and aggressive toward adults, including teachers and parents
- Are involved in other antisocial or rule-breaking activities such as vandalism, delinquency, and substance abuse
- Male bullies tend to be physically stronger than boys in general and particularly the students they bully
- Are more likely to report owning a gun for risky reasons, such as to gain respect or to frighten others
Group Mechanisms in Bullying
- Social Contagion
- Weakening the Normal Inhibitions Against Aggression
- Decreased Sense of Individual Responsibility
- Gradual Changes in the View of the Victim
Rules and Guidelines
- We Will Not Bully Others
- We Will Try To Help Students Who Are Bullied
- We Will Try to Include Students Who Are Left Out
- If We Know That Somebody Is Being Bullied, We Will Tell an Adult at School and an Adult at Home
It is important to recognize that children and adolescents that engage in bullying behavior can have a high social status amoungst their peerrs and have good academic skills. Keeping this in mind, it is important not to label any child as a bully but more importantly, realize that bullying is a behavior that one chooses to use.
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