And speaking of bogus self-esteem, one reason that bullying is so entrenched in the school system might be that bullies derive a bogus, but gratifying, sense of power and popularity from it:
"Bullying Among Young Adolescents: The Strong, the Weak and the Troubled" was published in the December issue of the magazine Pediatrics.
Dr Juvonen's research found that bullies were admired by their peers, and thus felt good about themselves. Bullies are popular because their dominance earns them respect among the general student population who tend not to sympathise with the victims, the study found.
"They don't show any signs whatsoever of depression, loneliness or anxiety," Dr Juvonen said. "They look even healthier than the socially adjusted kids who are not involved in the bullying"...
The study defines bullying as "starting fights and pushing other kids around", "putting down and making fun of others" and "spreading nasty rumours about others".
Most anti-bullying programs in schools were based on the belief that bullies picked on others because they had low self-esteem, Dr Juvonen said. Attention should focus on how to discourage support for bullying behaviour by other students, she said.
In other words, let's help shore up the kids who aren't bullies, instead of focusing our attention on "helping" the kids who are.
Posted by kswygert at January 12, 2004 04:03 PM