President’s Letter: Breaking Down Bullying

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, sponsored by PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. As school counselors, we understand that bullying prevention is an important part of our work every day.

Bullying is a form of youth violence defined as unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance intended to do physical or psychological harm. The behavior is repeated over time and can lead to other negative outcomes for all students involved. Bullying includes threats, rumors, physical or verbal aggression, and intentional exclusion. Younger children in elementary and middle schools are more likely to bully others than older children in high school.

• More than one out of every five (20.8 percent) students report being bullied (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016).
• Students who engage in bullying behavior are at increased risk for academic problems, substance use and violent behavior later in adolescence and adulthood (Centers for Disease Control, 2015).
• Students who are both targets of bullying and engage in bullying behavior are at greater risk for both mental health and behavior problems than students who only bully or are only bullied (Centers for Disease Control, 2015).
• School-based bullying prevention programs decrease bullying by up to 25 percent (McCallion & Feder, 2013).

Relational aggression may be defined as behaviors that harm others through damage to relationships, friendship or group inclusion. Relational aggression includes social exclusion or spreading rumors with the intent to harm others, or as a form of retaliation. In contrast to physical aggression, relational aggression involves actual or threatened damage to relationships. Relational aggression has been linked to eating disorders, substance abuse, suicidal ideation and social maladjustment among children.

Prevention is essential. Starting at an early age, children need to learn empathy, emotional regulation and resiliency skills. Students need to know how to safely stand up for themselves and others, and how to get help from an adult. In addition to your school’s social/emotional learning program, I recommend bibliotherapy, or the therapeutic use of literature, to support students in developing empathy and kindness. By choosing quality children’s literature with relatable characters and storylines, you can address social problems in a nonthreatening manner so students engage in rich discussion focused on problem solving and emotional support. Quality literature can help students gain a deeper understanding of themselves and each other.

I challenge us to work closely with our school communities to create safe school cultures where every child feels a strong sense of belonging and significance. In our schools, we value kindness, acceptance, friendship, inclusion and respect. In our schools, we honor cultural diversity and strengthen our bonds by celebrating our differences. When children show compassion and kindness to others and experience the power of acceptance and inclusion, bullying and exclusionary behaviors diminish. As students practice kindness, empathy and compassion, our school climates are improved, bullying behavior is reduced and children are empowered. Our students deserve to feel safe at school each and every day.
 
Contact Laura Barbour, OSCA president, at oscapresident@oscainc.org.