The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression
Peer-Peer Aggression
"In a 2001 survey commissioned by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more 8- to 15-year-olds picked teasing and bullying as 'big problems' than those who picked drugs or alcohol, racism, AIDS, or pressure to have sex."
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, 2003ref
Bullying is "exposure, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other students."ref It is an imbalance of power. This definition is based on work by the Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus, who pioneered the field of bullying research in the 1970s.
After three young boys committed suicide in Norway in the early 1980s, efforts by Olweus and others resulted in a nationwide bullying prevention campaign in Norway. The program has become the international standard for bullying prevention.ref
Bullying encompasses more than physical acts; it can take the form of:
- Name calling
- Threats
- Verbal or other forms of shunning.ref
Most bullying shares the following characteristics:
- It is aggressive behavior or intentional "harm-doing";
- It is carried out repeatedly and over time; and
- It occurs within an interpersonal relationship characterized by an imbalance of power.ref
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Last Updated: 5/19/04
SAMHSA is an Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
