Bullying in Middle School

Bullying is a pervasive problem in the United States. Recent reports that capture bullying in first person and cyberbullying are shocking and disheartening. Bullying can be a type of aggression when the behavior occurs repeatedly over time. A study conducted by Perkins et al. (2014) indicated that 20% of American students in grades 9–12 have been bullied before or are feeling bullied, while a further 28% of students in grades 6–12 report a similar trend. The most common type of bullying is verbal. This includes perpetuating rumors about a classmate or expressing obscenities. The derogatory terms often target race, gender, religion, culture, and sexual orientation. The second type of buying is sexual harassment. Studies indicate that of all students in American schools, 75% of girls and 85% of boys have experienced this type of bullying at school (Hymel & Swearer, 2015)

Verbal abuse is most common, followed by cyberbullying. Social media sites such as Instagram have made it easier for children to bully their peers in the form of threats; such as posting embarrassing pictures and spreading rumors. Another major type of bullying that has become common among middle school students is social emotional bullying. This is a form of bullying that excludes children from playful activities and conversations in attempt to make them feel insecure about themselves.

Bullying has a negative impact on academic performance. Studies have shown that students who faced bullying had the greatest risk of low achievement and engagement. The poor performance has been explained by multiple o factors. To begin with, students who are bullied are at risk of skipping school and perceiving school as a negative environment, thereby, paralyzing their academic performance. They are also likely to suffer from low self-esteem, which also lowers their academic performance significantly. Also, bullying has come to be increasingly associated with heightened levels of suicidal thoughts and depression. The on-going feelings of loneliness, sadness, and general frustration from isolation can result to severe depression among bullied students. Suicidal thoughts tend to become more heightened among the depressed children who are usually approaching their teenage years. The recent case of an attempted suicide by a student who had been tormented by his classmates caught the attention of the public to recognize the adverse effects of bullying.

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