cyberbullying position paper, High school final essays of English

Download cyberbullying position paper and more High school final essays English in PDF only on Docsity! ares seres aoe eth ; LACS aN one) ced OP AN ou een fe eo MRO Oe rp UIT Lleol Position Paper - bullying and cyber-bullying July 2011 headspace position papers are for general information only. They are not intended to be and should not be relied on as a substitute for specific medical or health advice. They are not intended to be and should not be relied on as clinical guidelines. While every effort is taken to ensure the information is accurate, headspace makes no representations and gives no warranties that this information is correct, current, complete, reliable or suitable for any purpose. We disclaim all responsibility and liability for any direct or indirect loss, damage, cost or expense whatsoever in the use of or reliance upon this information. headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation Ltd is funded by the Australian Govemment Department of Health and Ageing under the Youth Mental Health Initiative Program. Bullying and cyber-bullying the issue Bullying is intentional and repeated intimidating behaviour by an individual or group against another person or group, in the context of ongoing social relationships. Bullying can have a major impact on mental health and wellbeing and is significantly associated with the development of mental health problems. Bullying takes many forms and can occur in a ‘real’ or virtual environment. Bullying that occurs face-to-face can be verbal, physical, relational/social, and indirect (involving a third party) [1]. Cyber-bullying involves intimidating behaviour or degradation via technological resources such as mobile phone text messages, email, chat rooms/discussion groups, and online social networking sites. Methods of bullying tend to overlap, so that young people who are cyber-bullied also tend to be bullied face-to-face [2]. evidence The prevalence of bullying is not well established, and differing definitions and study methods make the comparison of studies a particular challenge. Australian data reveal that 1 in 8 young people have experienced verbal bullying (teasing or nasty things being said) over the past school term [3] and half of year 8 students reported being victimised in a large-scale Victorian survey [4]. Around 10 per cent of Australian students (Years 4 to 8) have reported that they have been cyber-bullied [5]. Bullying is a major concern of young people. In 2010, it was ranked the third highest issue of concern for 11 to 14 year olds. Over a quarter of this age group indicated it was a major concern, compared with 20 per cent of 15-19 year olds and 16 per cent of 20-24 year olds [6]. The consequences of victimisation are many and can be very serious and some young people are more at risk of being bullied than others [7]. Being a victim of bullying in childhood is associated with poorer mental health outcomes, such as depression and anxiety, poorer functioning in social and occupational roles and greater likelihood of repeatedly thinking about suicide in adulthood [8, 9]. Importantly, bullying is associated with increased suicide risk [10]. A meta-analysis of 18 longitudinal studies of approximately 14,000 participants revealed a two-way relationship between internalising problems, such as depression and anxiety, and being bullied; that is, that children who have internalising problems are more likely to be bullied and children who are bullied are more likely to report internalising problems [11]. The experience of severe bullying in childhood has been shown to have an association with psychotic symptoms in early adolescence [12]. Primary school aged children who are being bullied, or who are both a bully and a victim of bullying, are more likely to have physical health symptoms such as repeated sore throats, colds and coughs, and greater psychosomatic health problems, such as headaches, stomach aches, not sleeping well [13], poor appetite, and worrying about attending school, compared to those who have not been bullied. ‘Pure’ bullies who have never been victimised reported the least health problems [14]. An individual may at different times be a perpetrator, victim or witness to a bullying event. Witnessing bullying, as either a passive watcher or actively supporting/reinforcing the victim or perpetrator, may itself have some detrimental effects on mental well-being [15]. Asystematic review of school based programs from over 25 years of research from around the world [16] found that: ¢ Overall, school based programs can be effective in reducing bullying and being bullied (on average bullying decreased by 20-23 per cent and victimisation by 17-20 per cent). e The most important program elements that were associated with a decrease in bullying were: parent training/meetings, improved playground supervision, disciplinary methods, classroom management, teacher training, classroom rules, whole-school anti-bullying policy, school conferences, information for parents, and cooperative group work amongst school teachers/staff. Important components of reducing victimisation were disciplinary methods, parent training/meetings, videos and cooperative group work amongst school teachers/staff. e Engagement of peers in tackling bullying had no positive effect on reducing bullying behaviour and was associated with an increase in victimisation. Direct individual work with bullies or victims within schools was not found to have significant effect. e Programs of a greater duration and made up of a greater number of components were the most effective in reducing both bullying and victimisation. Page 2 Position Paper - bullying and cyberbullying