Studies show bullying rates are on the rise

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    By Kari Merrill

    Stealing notebooks, pushing and shoving, name-calling. Bullying may start small but can leave a lasting negative impact on those being bullied, and is still a prevalent problem in schools today.

    According to an Illinois Center for Violence Prevention survey, school bullies are more than just an issue tackled in TV sitcoms: School districts across the nation reported an 82 percent increase in violence at school in the past five years. This statistic relates directly to an increase in bullying.

    Bullying can take place anywhere at or around school, and is not limited to any particular activities. To make a stand against bully abuse, the Utah State Office of Education instituted a bullying intervention program for school transportation systems, but even programs targeted at bully abuse cannot eliminate all of the problems.

    The National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center Web site says one of the best ways to deal with bullying is to make the problem known.

    “While approaches that simply crack down on individual bullies are seldom effective, when there is a school-wide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50 percent,” the Web site says.

    An ABC News report on bullying showed that if even one bystander would interfere with a bully by saying, “Stop!” or “Don”t hit my friend,” half of the time the bully would quit. Other methods of bully prevention include providing support for all students, increasing parent and teacher supervision and involvement, and working toward creating strong anti-bullying social norms.

    Eric Ethington, a BYU student studying psychology, said a possible reason children act out as bullies is because it gives them a sense of importance.

    “Everybody has a deep drive of wanting to feel important,” he said. “Most people are infinitely more interested in themselves than in others. This is not to mean that they are uncaring, but when it comes right down to it most people like to receive attention in the right amount and in their right way.”

    According to Ethington, a possible method to overcome this facet of bullying is by helping these students find an alternative foundation of importance.

    Another way to work toward resolving bullying issues is by protecting the children being targeted. Lisa Clegg, a mother of two from Orem, said by opening lines of communication between students being bullied and their teachers, a sense of trust can be gained and resolutions more easily reached.

    “I think that kids with special needs are an especially common, easy target,” Clegg said. “They are easier to attack and less likely to fight back. Parents need to learn what to look for and how to protect their children. All incidents of bullying should be taken seriously and resolved. All children deserve the right to an education and they can only learn when they feel that they are in a safe and protected environment.”

    A study on safeyouth.org shows that nearly 30 percent of youth in the United States (over 5.7 million) are somehow involved in bullying either as a target of bullying, a bully, or both. To take a stand against this problem or to get more information on current bullying trends, visit local schools or the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center Web site; safeyouth.org.

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