A few weeks ago a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that bullying was the number one concern of young people in Australia.
Bullying has displaced their concerns about the environment and the importance of healthy eating or owning a computer.
This is surprising since the incidence of bullying does not seem to be increasing.
Definitions of bullying
Perhaps the meaning of the word bullying has expanded in our community.
Taking psychological or medical words which have specific definitions and incorporating them into our everyday speech is widespread.
Nobody is sad anymore, we are depressed; if someone is neat and tidy they have OCD; nobody gets a cold anymore, it’s the flu.
Perhaps bullying is now so broadly defined and even carelessly used that it has lost the specific meaning it had.
So what is bullying? That depends on who you ask.
Researchers’ definitions
Researchers say bullying is a complex social relationship problem, which is deeply embedded in our society.
The behaviour of the person bullying has to have three fundamental properties.
First, the person must intend to harm the victim; bullying can’t be accidental.
Some researchers even go as far as saying that the person must feel harmed; if not, it is not bullying.
Second, the bullying behaviour is usually repeated.
A one-off spiteful remark would not be called bullying, but if it is constantly repeated, it would be.
Third, bullying is not fighting among equals; there is a power imbalance in the relationship.
Kids’, teachers’ and parents’ definitions
In one study I did I asked groups of kids and parents and teachers what they thought bullying was.
All three groups said that an imbalance of power was central to saying what bullying was, different from fighting. Continue reading
Source
- Marilyn Campbell in The Conversation
Marilyn Campbell is Professor in the Faculty of Education, School of Cultural and Professional Learning at Queensland University of Technology.