Bullying is a form of abuse present in the school environment among children, adolescents and young people with a very high prevalence today. It is said that one in four students suffer or have suffered bullying. Given the high prevalence of this type of abuse in recent years, many studies have been carried out to investigate the causes that cause it with the intention of creating preventive programs that allow this problem to be detected in time to avoid it as much as possible. the devastating consequences that this type of harassment generates in the victims.
In the following article we will present the types of bullying and their consequences for the victims, who are the most harmed figure in these situations of abuse.
Bullying causes
The origin of the different types of bullying is usually the same and its causes are related to the personality and living environment of both the aggressor, the victim and the observers:
Aggressor
With respect to the aggressor, the factors that usually lead to this student adopting this role of bully over his classmates are: lack of impulse control, aggressiveness and excessive anger, unstructured family environment and/or riddled with abuse, negligence or lack of limits, lack of self-esteem and endless emotional deficiencies.
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Victim
As for the victim, the person who suffers bullying is usually characterized as a person with low self-esteem, fearful, with a lack of vital force who, like the aggressor, has built his personality on an emotional and psychological basis with certain emotional deficiencies.
In this case, this has led to a fragile and fearful personality which is usually the focus of abusive personalities.
Observers
In the case of the group of observers, there are many factors that condition their passive behavior that increases and feeds the abuses carried out, but we could summarize them in two: disorientation in the face of such a situation of abuse and an attempt not to attract attention so as not to suffer the same abuse that your partner or approach to the leader as a source of power, copying or encouraging their abusive behaviors
The consequences that occur, in general terms, on the aggressors are a increased levels of impulsivity and aggressiveness and in the use of coercive techniques as a legal source of power. In observers, this type of abuse usually provokes, on the one hand, more fear and protection against possible situations of abuse or, in the other group, it encourages a perverse view of the possibility of obtaining power through different types of bullying.
physical bullying
Physical bullying refers to a whole set of acts of physical violence that the aggressor carries out on the victim, encouraged by passive observers. Hitting, pushing, fighting, slapping, tripping, etc. They are examples of physical bullying that the aggressor uses to intimidate the affected person.
The consequences that this type of abuse generates on the victim, in addition to the psychological suffering, is added to the physical pain derived from the attacks. At the same time, it causes great helplessness and increases submission to aggressive figures.
Psychological bullying
Psychological bullying refers to all types of abuse carried out through behaviors that directly or indirectly constitute manipulation of the victim, increasing the strength of the aggressor and his influence over him: blackmail, threats, intimidating gestures, etc.
This type of abuse increases the victim’s fear of certain school situations and environments, causing anxiety in the face of the aggressor’s unexpected manipulations and great inner restlessness and helplessness.
Verbal bullying
This type of bullying refers to all types of verbal abuse that directly or through written messages or third parties that the aggressor exerts on his victim: insults, mockery, humiliation, false rumors, screams, threats, etc.
The consequences of this type of bullying on the victim would be psychological paralysis and body numbness in the presence of the aggressor or his peers, fear and panic in certain school situations, learned helplessness, introversion increases, damaging subsequent social relationships, anxiety, etc.
sexual bullying
Sexual bullying can occur through various manifestations such as homophobic behavior towards certain sexual orientations, humiliating comments or acts and, in extreme cases, sexual abuse.
The consequences of these acts on the victim are very harmful, as is well known to occur in the case of any type of child or youth sexual abuse. A very deep part of sexually assaulted people is broken and, in many cases, Psychological dissociations may occur as a protective mechanism in the face of the pain suffered.
Personal devaluation, distrust of the world and helplessness increase exponentially in these cases. In this article you will find more information about the .
social bullying
Social bullying refers to all those behaviors encouraged by the aggressor that cause indifference towards the victim by not only him but a good part of his environment. The manipulative attitude of the aggressor encourages, in the rest of his colleagues, behaviors of rejection, exclusion or indifference towards the victim in question.
The psychological consequences for the affected person increase their low levels of self-esteem and can provoke flight and social and school avoidance responses that, over time, can give rise to different types of phobias such as social phobia, agoraphobia, etc.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying has unfortunately become a great tool for school abuse given the magnitude of its consequences and, in turn, the possibility of maintaining the anonymity of the aggressor. This type of abuse occurs through all types of social networks in which humiliating images, videos or gossip about the victim of bullying are disseminated.
The consequences that this type of abuse generates on the victim can lead to states of paranoia and psychological and emotional blockage and paralysis.
The most serious of the consequences that prolonged bullying situations of any kind can give rise to for the victim is suicide. The work to prevent this type of abuse from school institutions becomes an obligation for authorities, teachers and parents to protect the weakest and most vulnerable people. In this article you will see.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Gabarda, V. “Bullying in the classroom”. International University of Valencia