The Psychology of Bullying Statistics & Societal Response Ireland

1. The Psychology of
Bullying
Statistics & Societal Response
Ireland

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Bullying is a form of aggressive behaviour in which
someone intentionally and repeatedly causes
another person injury or discomfort. Bullying can
take the form of physical contact, words or more
subtle actions (APA 2014) .
The bullied individual typically has trouble
defending him or herself and does nothing to
“cause” the bullying.
Bullies are made, not born.

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What is The Psychology of Bullying?
When children turn into bullies, there is almost
always a psychological reason why they do so.
While the majority of children don’t turn to
bullying, the ones that do are usually crying out
for help.
The circumstances a child has dealt with in their
life determine whether or not they will become a
bully.

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When a child has become a bully, they want to
show their dominance over other children and be
admired by their schoolmates for it.
Children who bully others want to receive
affection and since they are not, they turn to
picking on other children.
Socially awkward children are often the target of a
bully because they are less likely than other
children to have a peer come to their defence.

5. Many times, children who are bullies have suffered
some form of abuse in their life.
 As a result, they often have trouble controlling both
their actions and their emotions.
 They often struggle with psychological problems
and drug and alcohol abuse as well as delinquency.
 Studies conducted have determined that any child
who has been the victim of a bully is more likely to
have suicidal thoughts than children who have not.
 Other studies show that both gay and lesbian
children are bullied as much as three times more
than other children are.
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6. Experts related to The Psychology of Bullying have
stated that there is not always a clear cut reason why
children become bullies.
 Some children will bully others simply because they
think it is fun.
 When parents, teachers and other adults don’t do
enough, or even worse, do nothing to stop the
bullying the problem only becomes worse.
 Without an adult intervening, some children see
nothing wrong with bullying others.
 There are also many cases where parents set a bad
example for their children which leads them to
believe it is okay to be a bully.
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Children who participate in cyber bullying do so because
they want to humiliate and embarrass other children. They
also want to appear intimidating and this is easier to do
online than in person. This means that children who don’t
have the nerve to bully someone in school may instead
choose to bully them via social networks or electronically.
Teenagers who are unhappy with their life often turn to
cyber bullying to spam another student’s email account or
spread a virus to their computer.
Anger and pain are two things that motivate some
children and teenagers to engage in cyber bullying.
Many of them suffer from low self esteem and have little
to no confidence in themselves.
Studies have determined that almost 80% of teenagers
have somehow become involved in cyber bullying.

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Children who become bullies may need to be
enrolled in an anti-bullying program.
When these programs were implemented in
Scandinavia in the 70s and 80s, it led to a huge
drop in the number of children bullied to the
point where it now has one of the lowest averages
for bullying anywhere in the world.
Bullying can become a huge problem if it is not
dealt with quickly and properly.
It is up to parents, teachers, students and
communities alike to put a stop to bullying

9. 1- Overt types
Physical
Verbal
2- Covert type

10. Physical bullying
makes up
30.5% of school
bullying
Damaging
property
Pushing
Hitting
kicking
Pinching

11. Verbal bullying
Verbal
abuse
47% of
bullying in
school
intimidation
Name
calling
Insults
Teasing

12. Covert bullying
Carried out behind the bullied person's back.
Designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or
cause humiliation.
Includes:
1. spreading rumor's.
2. negative facial or physical gestures, menacing looks.
3. playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate
4. mimicking unkindly
5. encouraging others to socially exclude someone and /or
damaging someone's social reputation or social
acceptance.
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13. Cyber-bullying
• Overt or covert bullying behaviour using digital technologies.
• Include ;
- Harassment via a mobile phone or social
network
- Deliberately excluding someone from social
networks

14. Bullies project their inadequacy on to others:
 To avoid facing up to and to divert attention
away from their own inadequacies.
 Avoid responsibility for their behaviour.
 Reduce their fear of being seen for what they
are, often weak, inadequate and sometimes
incompetent individuals.

15.  FACT: Bullies have power over those they
bully.
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People who bully others usually pick on those who
have less social power (peer status), psychological
power (know how to harm others), or physical
power (size, strength).
However, some people who bully also have been
bullied by others.
People who both bully and are bullied by others are
at the highest risk for problems (such as depression
and anxiety) and are more likely to become involved
in risky or delinquent behaviour.

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MYTH: Only boys bully.
People think that physical bullying by boys is the
most common form of bullying.
However, verbal, social, and physical bullying
happens among both boys and girls, especially
as they grow older.

17. MYTH: All people who bully are insecure and have low
self-esteem.
 Many people who bully are insecure and have low
self-esteem however some are popular and have
average or better-than-average self-esteem. They
often take pride in their aggressive behaviour and
control over the people they bully.
 People who bully may be part of a group that thinks
bullying is okay.
 Some people who bully may also have poor social
skills and experience anxiety or depression. For
them, bullying can be a way to gain social status.

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MYTH: Bullying often resolves itself when you
ignore it.
Bullying reflects an imbalance of power that
happens again and again.
Ignoring the bullying teaches students who bully
that they can bully others without
consequences.
Adults and other students need to stand up for
children who are bullied, and to ensure they are
protected and safe.

19. low self-confidence and low selfesteem, and thus feel insecure.
Inadequate to fulfill the duties
and obligations of their position
fear being revealed.
This fear of exposure often
borders on paranoia.

20. Bullies often harbour, resentment, bitterness,
hatred and anger.
Hold prejudices as a means for transferring their
anger onto others.
Bullies are sometimes driven by jealousy and envy.
Rejection is a powerful motivator of bullying.

21. Victims suffer depression, anxiety, social isolation, and
low self-esteem.
Victims may resort to suicide as a result of extreme
mental and social pressures.
Individuals who are bullied in childhood:
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Emotional wounds into adulthood,
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Leading to depression, social isolation.
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Inability to react appropriately to situations.

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Comes home from School, hungry and /or with
damaged or missing clothing or other
belongings.
Reports losing items books, electronics, clothing.
Has unexplained injuries
Complains of headaches, stomachaches, or
feeling sick
Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams
Changes in eating habits
Becomes withdrawn
Acts differently than usual

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Loses interest in visiting
or talking with friends
Is afraid of going to
school or other activities
with peers
Loses interest in school
work or begins to do
poorly in school
Appears sad, moody,
angry, anxious or
depressed when they
come home.
Hurts themselves
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Avoids certain places
Suddenly has fewer
friends
Feels helpless
Often feels like they are
not good enough
Blames themselves for
their problems
Talks about self harm/
suicide
Runs away from home

26. Over 75% of students are subjected to harassment by
a bully or Cyber-Bully and experience physical,
psychological and/or emotional abuse.
 Over 20% of Children admit to being a bully or
participating in bully-like activities.
 Over one half of bullying & Cyber-Bullying events go
unreported to authorities or parents.
 On a daily average 160,000 children in the US miss
school because they fear they will be bullied if they
attend classes.
 On a monthly average in the US 282,000 students are
physically attacked by a bully each month.
 Every seven minutes a child is bullied on a school
playground with over 85% of those instances
occurring without any intervention .
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46% of males and 26% of females admit to having
been involved in physical fights as a result of being
bullied.
A child commits suicide as a direct result of being
bullied once every half hour with 19,000 bullied
children in the US attempting to commit suicide
over the course of one year.

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A nationwide survey of bullying in first and second level schools
conducted by Trinity College Dublin estimates that some 31% of
primary and 16% of secondary students have been bullied at
some time.
Of the total Irish school-going population, some 23% or 200,000
children are at risk of being victims of bullying.
74% of primary school children reported being bullied in the
playground while 31% claimed that it occurred in the classroom.
At secondary level, pupils reported 47% of incidents in the
classroom, 37% in the corridors, and 27% in the playground.
19% of the former and 8.8% of the latter grouping said they
were victimised going to or from school.
Other areas of attack included the toilets, changing rooms, locker
areas and dormitories in boarding schools.
Source: Nationwide Study on Bullying Behaviour in Irish Schools
(2010), Anti-Bullying Centre, Trinity College Dublin.

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Parents stated that:
40% had one or more children being bullied;
85% did not have a copy of their school policy;
80% had children who told them they were being bullied;
91% had children who were being bullied by a member of
the same sex
62% said it was being carried out by more than one
person.
At 30%, the highest percentage of those being bullied are
12-13 year olds, with 22% of parents reporting that they
were first bullied between the ages of 8 and 9.
80% of parents believe the Gardaí should not be involved;
68% feel that schools should take stronger action;
63% stated that victims should be given more advice.
Source: Nationwide Study on Bullying Behaviour in Irish Schools
(2010), Anti-Bullying Centre, Trinity College Dublin.

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Talk to your parents or an adult you can
trust, such as a teacher, principal or school
counsellor.
Act confident. Hold your head up, stand up
straight, make eye contact, and walk
confidently. A bully will be less likely to single
you out if your project self-confidence.

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An Action Plan on Bullying was launched by the
Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D.
and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs,
Frances Fitzgerald T.D on January 29th 2013.
The Plan sets out twelve actions to help prevent and
tackle bullying in primary and second level schools.
The report makes it clear that preventing and
tackling bullying requires support from parents and
wider society and is not a problem schools can solve
alone.

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Support a media campaign focused on cyber bullying specifically
targeted at young people as part of Safer Internet Day 2013;
Establish a new national anti-bullying website;
Begin development immediately of new national anti-bullying
procedures for all schools. These will include an anti-bullying
policy template and a template for recording incidents of
bullying in schools.
Devise a co-ordinated plan of training for parents and for school
boards of management;
Provide Department of Education and Skills support for the
Stand Up! Awareness Week Against Homophobic Bullying
organised by BeLonG To Youth Services;
Review current Teacher Education Support Service provision to
identify what training and Continuous Professional Development
teachers may need to help them effectively tackle bullying.

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The Department of Education & Skills will be supporting a revision of the
Stay Safe Programme for primary schools.
The Action Plan on Bullying contains a number of other
recommendations for further consideration by Ministers, agencies and
other bodies. These include:
A proposal to establish an Anti-Bullying Implementation Group;
The Department of Education and Skills to engage with book
publishers who produce materials for schools to address the issue of
stereotyping;
Development of a new National Framework for Anti-Bullying which
would set out the Government’s commitment to preventing and tackling
bullying for children and young people from early childhood through to
adulthood;
Research into how other countries investigate procedures in other
jurisdictions to see if these could be used to improve the Irish system;
Encourage social media and telecommunications companies and
internet service providers to continue to work with State Agencies,
NGOs, parents and young people to raise awareness of cyber bullying and
how it can be dealt with.

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Minister Quinn said, “Bullying can have a
devastating effect on our children and young
people that can sometimes end in tragedy. That
is why this Action Plan is so important. I broadly
accept the proposed actions and now want to see
implementation begin immediately, alongside
other related initiatives, including the new WellBeing in Post-Primary Schools: Guidelines for
Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention
(2013)”

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Minister Fitzgerald said, “This is a significant step in
the Government’s absolute commitment to address
the serious impact which bullying continues to have on
our children. This Action Plan on Bullying is the first of
its kind in Ireland and highlights the critical role of
schools in dealing with bullying. Bullying is not
limited to classrooms, so we must have a broader
approach. That means making sure that wherever
young people are, they are protected by strong antibullying guidelines and strong practice.
“Bullying must be named and it must and will be
challenged, and when it expresses itself in newer
forms, it must and will be challenged there, too.”

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Minister Fitzgerald said, “This is a significant step in
the Government’s absolute commitment to address
the serious impact which bullying continues to have on
our children. This Action Plan on Bullying is the first of
its kind in Ireland and highlights the critical role of
schools in dealing with bullying. Bullying is not
limited to classrooms, so we must have a broader
approach. That means making sure that wherever
young people are, they are protected by strong antibullying guidelines and strong practice.
“Bullying must be named and it must and will be
challenged, and when it expresses itself in newer
forms, it must and will be challenged there, too.”

37. 
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APA (2014) American Psychological Association. Anti-bullying.
Accessed on line February 20th 2014.
Essawy,H, (2014) Psychology of Bullying Power-point, accessed
on Slideshare (February 20th 2014)
Gulazzi, K, (2011) Bullying Power-point accessed on slideshare
(February 20th 2014).
Psychology today (2014). Bullying. Accessed on line February 20th
2014 @ Psychologytoday.com
http://nobullying.com/the-psychology-of-bullying/the movement
against bullying accessed on line February 20th 2014
http://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2013Press-Releases/PR-%202013-01-29.
Trinity College, Nationwide Study on Bullying Behaviour in Irish
Schools (2010), Anti-Bullying Centre, Trinity College Dublin.
www.NABC.ie