History of Bullying and Prevention Programs

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As of the past few decades, the concept of bullying has become a household name. Bullying in schools has become such an issue to the extent that it has affected roughly 29 percent school children (some being the bully, and some being bullied), according to a survey funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH 2001). While it seems that the concept of bullying has become recognized and combated more recently as opposed to in the past, one cannot say that bullying in schools in earlier times was completely ignored (Rigby, Smith, Pepler 2004). In mid nineteenth century England, author Thomas Hughes wrote a novel titled Tom Brown’s School Days that opened up the public’s eyes to bullying in schools (Rigby, Smith, Pepler 2004). In his novel, Tom is victimized at school in a way that is similar to “war”—the bully never lets up (Brown 2011). It was this famous novel that “evoked strong expressions of abhorrence towards, and condemnation of, the practice of bullying, and various suggestions were made on how it could be countered” (Rigby, Smith, Pepler 2004). While this novel helped spark public discussion and concern about bullying in schools, the types and prevalence of bullying in schools was somewhat unknown by the public. John Hughes’ novel served as the foundation for Olweus’ study in Scandinavia during the 1970’s, which explored the nature of bullying, the risks associated with bullying and the harm it causes (Rigby 2002). According to Nerissa S. Bauer, “bullying is aggressive behavior marked by an imbalance of power occurring repetitively with intent to harm and can either be physical (e.g., fighting, pushing) or relational (e.g., social exclusion, spreading rumors)” (Bauer 2007). Without appropriate intervention (from the school), these negative behaviors contribute to a negative school environment, both for the children who are
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