School Bullying and Problems in Adult Life

School Bullying and Problems in Adult Life

Introduction

The problem of school bullying has been addressed on different levels, including political, economic, cultural, juridical, educational, and many others. The causes of bullying vary, but they lead to severe issues that can remain unresolved for years. Bullying is aggressive behavior that can be seen in different children, teenagers, and adults, and it is able to lead to problems with mental and physical health, social life, and the ability to work. In this paper, the causes of bullying and the effects of it will be presented and discussed.

What Is Bullying?

To understand the causes behind bullying, a precise definition of it needs to be presented. According to deLara, bullying can range from “psychological intimidation (e.g. sexual gestures) to verbal abuse (e.g. name-calling) to physical abuse (e.g. kicking) to life-threatening violence” (weapon threat) (2). Bullying is double-sided, as it can be used both as a psychological attack and as a defense. It is also important to notice that bullying is always unwanted and is able to cause lasting problems both for the bully and the bullied. In schools, students can also practice the so-called social bullying, when they leave one of the students out, spread rumors about that student, or persuade others not to befriend this person or to ignore them together (deLara 2). Nevertheless, deLara also stresses that bullying can have different definitions, depending on the individual’s experience (4). Moreover, a bully and a victim can also be the same person (deLara 4). The author also criticizes the definition given by the US Department of Education that excludes siblings and dating partners from the definition; as the author states, siblings and dating partners can bully each other too (deLara 6). Therefore, bullying can affect anyone.

There are different reasons why people decide to bully somebody; among others, psychological traumas, specific cultural and societal factors, or complicated relationships with and aggressive behavior of parents are more likely to influence the person’s decision to bully somebody (deLara 17). A person is more likely to be bullied if they are “different,” e.g. they are of a different race, gender, sexuality, have disabilities, problems with health, etc. Moreover, the possible effects of bullying, including traumas and even a PTSD syndrome, are rarely discussed by the public (deLara 5). These effects can vary and severely complicate adult life.

How Bullying Affects the Adult Life

Elfen deLara points out that adults who have been bullied in childhood can both seek revenge or try to become “people-pleasing” to avoid harassment. Other studies stress that there is a high probability for a school bully to become more violent is their adult life (Ttofi et al. 409). Moreover, the findings of the study also indicated that “the younger the children are when they exhibit this form of problem behavior, the more likely it is that they will be violent later in life” (Ttofi et al. 409). The relation between victimization and violence was also established: if a person was a victim of bullying, the chances of becoming violent in later life increased by approx. One-third (Ttofi et al. 415). As can be seen, bullying is harmful both to the bully and to their victim. DeLara also states that people might experience trust issues in their adult relationships, including those with friends and intimate partners. Bullying can also lead to domestic violence (deLara 21).

People who have been bullied can also make different decisions about their health and employment due to the events that they experienced (deLara 22). Although bullying is often perceived as a phenomenon typical for schools, it can traverse into the working process, interfering with the adult’s duties and tasks. Another study that addressed the impact of bullying on adults at age 25 to 50 demonstrated that those who have sometimes or frequently been bullied had “higher levels of psychological distress at age 23 and also at age 50, almost 40 years after exposure” (Takizawa et al. 3). Therefore, the effects of bullying can be extremely long-lasting and affect the physical and mental health of the victims. Bullying victimization sometimes leads to social isolation, and the victims might have lower education levels, are more likely to be unemployed, seldom meet with the friends, and are less likely to have access to social support (Takizawa et al. 3).

Conclusion

Although bullying is often perceived as a period in child’s life that is forgotten after graduation, it has a moderate or severe impact on the person’s adult life, physical and mental health, ability to build relationship