Bullying in School: The Traumatic Effects of Bullying on

Children
By Dr. Terry Ehiorobo | Posted on 04.16.2012 | 2 Comments

Photo: Wavebreakmedia Ltd / Thinkstock

The issue of bullying has plagued many school systems in the US. We have all read
about issues of bullying causing students to take drastic measures to make the pain
stop. Unfortunately, many of these drastic measures have resulted in suicide and/or
murder. In 2010, a 15-year-old immigrant from Ireland took her own life because of
excessive bullying. A New York Times article noted that the defendants were accused
of relentlessly tormenting Ms. Prince (Eckholm, 2011).

Even the president has taken a strong stance on the issue of bullying. He stated, Weve
got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage (Anderson, 2010).

In my work as a school teacher and principal, I have observed and dealt with numerous
cases of bullying. What is not discussed often enough is how these acts of bullying can
cause long-lasting effects for the victims.

Recently I watched a video about a young man who successfully sued his school district
for turning a blind eye to the abuses he suffered from bullies because he was gay. The
vicious acts he suffered lasted from middle school through his secondary-school years.
Fortunately, this young man had helpers who encouraged him to fight back against a
system that condoned the abuse. Unfortunately, many targets of bullies do not have the
chance to fight back. The bullying they suffer sometimes triggers other traumatic
events they have suffered; it sometimes even causes victims to become bullies
themselves. The trickle-down effect thus becomes an ugly reality for many sufferers.

The world of bullying has a life of its own. It takes no prisoners and its effects can be
long lasting and endemic in some cases. Recently, an individual I worked with shared
with me some of his personal secrets and how those personal secrets still plague his life
today. He shared with me tales of such extreme bullying that his parents had to remove
him from the private school they had sent him to, and educate him at home. This
individual would not fit the bill for what most people would say looks like a victim. He
was often taller and heavier than his peers.

Now in his early thirties, he tells his story with such energy that it is obvious that the
pain and trauma he suffered as a result of the vicious acts continues to affect him. He
told me that he dreaded the bus rides to school. He told me that kids would pull and
twist his nipples on a daily basis so that, at times, his nipples would bleed. This
individual noted that his parents made the decision to homeschool him because they
could no longer endure the pain they experienced in seeing their son tortured and
humiliated.

I also recall conducting one of my first interviews as a new assistant principal. We were
interviewing for a hall-security position. The applicant, in expressing harrowing tales of
his experiences as a bus driver, shared a story with us about when a teenage girl was
raped on his bus while he was driving. Obviously, we did not hire this individual.
However, we thought about the child who had had to deal with that trauma and
humiliation at the hands of others. Although the perpetrators were dealt with, that
certainly could not have provided much relief to the victim. She will always possess the
memories of that trauma.

As we dig deeper to the root causes of bullying, several issues should be considered:

Can bullying cause traumatic stress?

Why does bullying occur?

What measures can schools take to stop bullying?

Tying Bullying to Traumatic Stress

Van der Kolk, McFarlane, and Weisaeth (2007) state, Trauma in childhood can disrupt
normal developmental processes. Because of their dependence on their caregivers,
their incomplete biological development, and their immature concepts of themselves
and their surroundings, children have unique patterns of reaction and needs for
intervention. Many of the children who are affected by traumatic stressors such as
bullying can have their developmental processes and parts of their brains affected by
the traumatic events (Ziegler, 2002).

If the child also lacks family support, the effects can be more devastating. As the child
attempts to make sense of the traumatic event, new behavioral problems can emanate
from re-experienced traumatic events. In addition, some children affected by traumatic
events may disassociate themselves from the traumatic situations and absorb
themselves in behaviors that generate negative attention. These new behavioral
adaptations may become so potent that opportunities for typical development and
growth are ignored as the child attempts to ensure her own safety.

For instance, a child who has been repeatedly bullied on the playground may exhibit
oppositional behaviors in class or may turn in incomplete work just to ensure that she
has to stay inside while others are on recess. The child doesnt pay attention in class,
and her thoughts revolve around staying away from the playground. The fear of
reprimand for the behavior is less than the fear of being bullied at recess.

The number of youths who experience bullying is alarming. In a recent survey of 1,965
students in seventh through twelfth grades, 48 percent reported being harassed in
some way (Anderson, 2011). Since many cases of bullying include violent actions
intended to create fear (name-calling; physical attacks; acts of humiliation, denigration,
and mistreatment), bullying can cause traumatic stress responses. With these acts of
bullying being continuous and going unnoticed, many children who are bulled can in
fact develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (van der Kolk, Weisaeth, &
McFarlane, 2007).

Understanding Why Bullying Occurs

Numerous researchers, educators, and psychologists have theories about why bullying
occurs. Although these groups have different semantics for explaining why bullying
occurs, there is always a common theme: power and control. From my own experience
of dealing with students who have been bullied and students who behave as bullies, its
clear to me that dominating others provides an element of control to the individual
doing the bullying. As Wolk (2010) noted, Bullies are about power and control, and
confronting them or stepping in to stop them usurps their sense of power.

Unfortunately, in many instances, school officials deal with incidents of bullying much
too late. By the time intervention occurs, the psychological damage and pain has
become almost indelible. This damage affects not only the bully and the target(s), it
also affects the bystanders. Wolk (2010) states, Most bystanders do not like witnessing
another person being bullied. It puts one into an uncomfortable psychological state
known as cognitive dissonance to witness a bullying incident and do nothing about it.
Cognitive dissonance occurs when our actions do not match our internal code of ethics
and morality.

Steps Schools Can Take to Stop Bullying

School officials must take time to review how they respond to acts of bullying. Wolk
(2010) states that harassment in schools violates Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of the Education Amendments of 1972. And in addition to the legal violations, there
are emotional and traumatic costs to the individuals involved in bullying situations.
Bullying needs to be addressed swiftly. The consequences should include
recommendation for counseling for the bullies. As noted earlier, many bullies have
themselves faced terrible difficulties of their own. Some of these difficulties may be
abuses (physical and verbal), violent episodes at home, chaotic lifestyles, and other
disturbing experiences. As a result of these factors, these individuals displace their pain
on others. (Such factors, incidentally, are also linked to self-harm behaviors.)

It is also powerful for school officials and counselors to perform reflective interviews
with bullies. Reflective interviews can involve placing the bully in the shoes of his victim
and asking him to think about how his actions have affected the victim.

I have found it especially helpful as a school principal to meet with the bully first, and to
have him process and reflect on the situation. I then invite the victim to my office and
have the bully and the victim meet. Making things right with the victim lessens the
bullys sense of power and control over the victim. This process also allows me to
empower the victim and provide him with new tools of confidence and assertion.

Victims must be encouraged to report the acts and actions of bullies. School leaders
and/or leaders in other settings that support youths should be vigilant in sending a clear
message to bullies that bullying is not tolerated in their setting. They must also send a
clear message to victims that failure to report a single act of bullying will ultimately give
bullies the notion that it is okay to continue to bully.

References

Anderson, J. (2011). National study finds widespread sexual harassment of

students in grades 7 to 12. Retrieved
from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/education/widespread-sexual-
harassment-in-grades-7-to-12-found-in-study.html

Anderson, N. (2010). Obama administration campaign takes on anti-gay bullying

in school. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2010/10/25/AR2010102506037.html

Eckholm, E. (2011). Two students plead guilty in bullying of teenager. Retrieved

from www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/us/05bully.html?_r=1&ref=cyberbullying

van der Kolk, B. A., Weisaeth, A. C., & McFarlane, L. (2007). Traumatic stress:
The effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society. New York:
The Guildford Press.
 Wolk, D. (2010). Beyond the bullies: Bystanders and instigators enable
aggression. Retrieved from www.hepg.org/blog/35

Ziegler, D. (2002). Traumatic experience and the brain. Phoenix: Acacia

Publishing, Inc.

About the Author

Dr. Terry Ehiorobo is a school principal at an alternative school in Kenosha, WI. He also
serves as an adjunct professor at National-Louis University in the education leadership
department. He has over ten years of school administrative experience and has taught
for over five years at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee school of continuing
education in the area of youth development.