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The School Bully: Does It Run In The Family?


ScienceDaily (Aug. 5, 2008) — A shove, a taunt or name-calling on the
playground or in the hall, away from the eyesight, earshot and
authority of the teacher – childhood bullying can involve physical
contact, spreading rumors and other negative behaviors committed over
and over again to intimidate, humiliate and isolate the receiver of
the behavior.

A review of national and international research on the issue is
finding a family connection to the origins of young bullies. Elizabeth
Sweeney, a University of Cincinnati master’s degree student in
sociology, presented her findings Aug. 3 at the 103rd annual meeting
of the American Sociological Association.

Sweeney reviewed research out of England, Germany, Norway, Japan,
South Africa and the United States, which she reports lagged behind
the European countries in examining the phenomenon of bullying prior
to this decade. The majority of the research that she examined
involved children between the ages of nine and 16.

Sweeney says her review of the literature found that children raised
by authoritarian parents – parents who are demanding, directive and
unresponsive – are the most prone to act out bullying behavior.

On the other hand, there were parallels showing that children raised
by nurturing, warm, responsive parents were less likely to bully.

“Children who experience hostility, abuse, physical discipline and
other aggressive behaviors by their parents are more likely to model
that behavior in their peer relationships,” she writes. “Children
learn from their parents how to behave and interact with others,”
Sweeney says. “So if they’re learning about aggression and angry words
at home, they will tend to use these behaviors as coping mechanisms
when they interact with their peers.” Her review also found that
children from middle-income families were less likely to bully than
children from the high and low ends of the family income scale.

She says that while some studies suggest boys are more prone to
bullying than girls, others state that it runs equally among the
genders, although boys are more likely to act out bullying physically,
while girls are more verbal.

Sweeney adds that it is the tolerance of bullying that “has served as
one of the primary contributors to its persistence and severity.” She
is advocating research that would delve more deeply into the issues of
bullying, including in-depth interviews with children, families and
school officials.


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Adapted from materials provided by University of Cincinnati.

University of Cincinnati (2008, August 5). The School Bully: Does It
Run In The Family?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 6, 2008, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804111636.htm