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School Bullies Often Seen As 'Cool'
By Amy Norton
12-8-3


NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Victims of bullying feel more depressed, anxious and socially isolated than their classmates, while the bullies are often seen as "cool," according to a study released Monday.
 
The findings, say experts, underscore the need to address bullying by changing its social acceptance.
 
In the study, researchers analyzed peer reports of who bullies and who is victimized, self-reports of psychological distress and peer and teacher reports of "adjustment" problems. The study included 11 middle schools in the Los Angeles area with large minority populations.
 
They found that nearly one-quarter of the 1985 students were involved in bullying in some way. Seven percent were perpetrators, based on what they, their classmates and their teachers said. Nine percent were victims of bullying, and six percent were both perpetrators and victims.
 
On surveys of psychological distress, victims showed the highest levels of depression, social anxiety and loneliness of all students. Kids deemed bullies, on the other hand, were "psychologically stronger" than their classmates, including those not involved in bullying at all. Bullies also enjoyed the highest social status in school.
 
There are a number of school programs that take on bullying by trying to boost the self-esteem of the perpetrators, the study's lead author, Dr. Jaana Juvonen, told Reuters Health.
 
"Instead," she said, "we should be concerned about the popularity of bullies and how to change the peer culture that maintains or encourages bullying."
 
Juvonen and her colleagues at the University of California Los Angeles report the findings in the December issue of the medical journal Pediatrics.
 
According to the researchers, some past studies that have relied on students to identify themselves as bullies or victims have suggested both groups share similar problems, such as depression. In this study, where classmates' and teachers' reports were included, bullies turned out to have the least psychological distress.
 
In contrast, victims tended to suffer emotionally and were ostracized by their classmates. Those considered both a bully and victim seemed to fare the worst-being the most ostracized, the most likely to have conduct problems, and the least likely to be engaged in school.
 
Dr. Howard Spivak of Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston agreed that the findings show the importance of changing the "social norms" that view bullying as part of growing up.
 
That will take comprehensive school-based programs, starting early in elementary school, aimed at "devaluing" bullying, he told Reuters Health.
 
In an editorial published with the report, Spivak points to a bullying-prevention project begun in Norway by Dr. Dan Olweus, whose methods have been shown to cut bullying in schools by about half. The approach uses, among other things, classroom activities aimed at changing students' attitudes about bullying, and gets parents involved in the process.
 
Some schools in the U.S. are shaping programs based on this model, including one Juvonen helped develop at a Los Angeles elementary school. Spivak said the problem of bullying is being "elevated in importance," but U.S. schools are still far behind those in some other countries when it comes to addressing the problem.
 
SOURCE: Pediatrics, December 2003.
 
Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
 

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