A review of the extent, nature, characteristics and effects of bullying behaviour in schools.

A review of the extent, nature, characteristics and effects of bullying behaviour in schools. Bullying behaviour no doubt is becoming a common feature, and anightmare in schools all over the world. It is a worrisome practice inschools because it infringes on the child's right to human dignity Human dignity is an expression that can be used as a moral concept or as a legal term. Sometimes it means no more than that human beings should not be treated as objects. Beyond this, it is meant to convey an idea of absolute and inherent worth that does not need to be acquired and ,privacy, freedom and security. The physical, emotional and educationalconsequences of bullying behaviour can never be underestimated.Therefore, this endeavour attempted to further expose us to the meaning,history, extent and nature of bullying behaviour in schools. Thecharacteristics of bullies and their victims and the effects of bullyingon the child's mental health were also discussed. ********** School has always been recognized as an institution for thetransfer of knowledge and culture to the future generation. It is adynamic human system dedicated to the nurturing of mutual growth andunderstanding between children and adults (Schultz, Glass &Kamholtz, 1987; Rutter, 1995). In schools, the learners are the centre of focus. They are ofutmost importance hence, adequate information about the students isnecessary for any meaningful learning to take place. For teachers'efforts not to be wasted and for learners to change along with the setgoals, such factors that affect learning and teaching, which includechild growth, age, heredity heredity,transmission from generation to generation through the process of reproduction in plants and animals of factors which cause the offspring to resemble their parents. That like begets like has been a maxim since ancient times. , interest, home and social effects andviolence in school (including school bullying and peer victimization victimizationSocial medicine The abuse of the disenfranchised–eg, those underage, elderly, ♀, mentally retarded, illegal aliens, or other, by coercing them into illegal activities–eg, drug trade, pornography, prostitution. )need to be addressed. From the psychological perspective, bullying as a behavioural Adj. 1. behavioural - of or relating to behavior; "behavioral sciences"behavioral characteristics can be conceptualized in a number of ways. It can alsobe taken to be a subset of aggressive behaviours. As with aggressivebehaviours generally, bullying intentionally causes hurt to therecipient. This hurt can be both physical and psychological. Bullyingbehaviour infringes upon the child's right to human dignity,privacy, freedom and security. It has an influence on the victim'sphysical, emotional, social and educational well being (Wet, 2005). Bullies frequently target people who are different from themselvesand they seek to exploit those differences. They select victims theythink are unlikely to retaliate such as persons who are overweight, wearglasses, or have obvious physical differences like big ears or severeacne acne,common inflammatory disease of the hair follicles and sebaceous glands characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pustules, nodules and, in the more severe forms, by cysts and scarring. The lesions appear on the face, neck, back, chest, and arms. . Such victims are common subjects of ridicule in the hands ofbullies. However, these differences do not necessarily need to bephysical, as students who learn at a different pace or are anxious orinsecure in��se��cureadj.1. Lacking emotional stability; not well-adjusted.2. Lacking self-confidence; plagued by anxiety.in can also be targets for bullies. Bullies resort to this abusivebehaviour as a way of dealing with difficult situations at home such asbroken homes, or partial separation from parents. Some bullies may seetheir behaviours as normal because they grow up from families in whicheveryone regularly gets angry and shouts. Whatever the situation or causes, bullies usually pick on others asa way of dealing with their own problems. In some cases, bullies pick onothers because they need a victim (someone who seems emotionally orphysically weaker), or because they try to gain acceptance and feel moreimportant, popular, or in control. Thus, the thrust of this papertherefore is to bring to further knowledge the concept of bullying, thecharacteristics of the students who are bullied, the characteristics ofthe victims, the nature and extent of bullying and the outcome ofbullying. The Concept of Bullying Bullying is not a new phenomenon among school children. Most adultscan remember incidents of bullying in which they were the bullies or theintended victims. Bullying has only received research attention sincethe early 1970's when Dan Olweus, a Norwegian researcher began tostudy this area. At that time, strong societal interest inbullying/victim problem emerged in Scandinavia, where bullying was knownas "mobbing". Olweus' 1978 book, "Aggression in theSchools--Bullies and Whipping Boys whipping boysurrogate sufferer for delinquent prince. [Eur. Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 942]See : Substitution ", is considered a landmark andthe first systematic study of the phenomenon of bullying (Noelle, 2005) Bullying can be described as repeated negative events, which overtime are directed at special individuals and which are carried out byone or several other people who are stronger than the victim. Negativeevents can be aggressive physical contact in the form of fights andshoving, verbal threats and mockery MockeryAbaschanged into lizard for mocking Demeter. [Rom. Myth: Metamorphoses, Zimmerman, 1]Beckmesserpompous object of practical jokes. [Ger. , grimacing or cruel gesturing. Bullying occurs when a person willfully willfullyadv. referring to doing something intentionally, purposefully and stubbornly. Examples: "He drove the car willfully into the crowd on the sidewalk." "She willfully left the dangerous substances on the property." (See: willful) and repeatedly exercisespower over another with hostile or malicious intent. A wide range ofphysical or verbal behaviours of an aggressive or anti-social nature areencompassed by the term bullying. These include, humiliating hu��mil��i��ate?tr.v. hu��mil��i��at��ed, hu��mil��i��at��ing, hu��mil��i��atesTo lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect of. See Synonyms at degrade. , harassingand mobbing (Colvin, Tobin, Beard, Hagan & Sprague, 1998). Bullyingmay also assume less direct forms (sometimes referred to as"psychological bullying") such as gossiping, spreadingrumours, and shunning or exclusion (O'Connel, Pepler & Craig,1999). However, the most widely used definition of bullying is that coinedby Olweus (1978), which states that a person is being bullied when he orshe is exposed repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the partof one or more other persons. Negative actions are considered to be whensomeone purposefully pur��pose��ful?adj.1. Having a purpose; intentional: a purposeful musician.2. Having or manifesting purpose; determined: entered the room with a purposeful look. inflicts, or tries to inflict injury or discomforton another person. Negative actions may be both verbal (e.g.threatening, degrading TO DEGRADE, DEGRADING. To, sink or lower a person in the estimation of the public. 2. As a man's character is of great importance to him, and it is his interest to retain the good opinion of all mankind, when he is a witness, he cannot be compelled to disclose , teasing teasingthe act of parading a male before a female to see if she displays estrus, and is therefore in a state where mating is likely to be fertile. ) and non-verbal (e.g. hitting, kicking,slapping, pushing, vandalizing property, rude gestures, and makingfaces) (Olweus, 1993). Bullying may be carried out by a single person(the bully) or by a group against a single person (the victim) or by agroup. Langevin (2000) claimed that this definition requires that negativeactions must be carried out repeatedly and intentionally to beconsidered bullying, which excludes occasional and less serious negativeaction. In order to be considered bullying, there should also be anactual or perceived power imbalance. That is, the person experiencingthe negative actions has trouble defending him/ herself and is helplessto some degree against the harassing person or persons (Besag, 1991;Rigby & Slee, 1993). Olweus (1993) opined that another distinction that is sometimesmade in defining bullying is that of direct and indirect bullying.Direct bullying is defined as open attacks on the victim, while indirectbullying consists of social isolation and exclusion from the group.Smith and Sharp (1994) submitted that a further criterion is thatbullying must be unprovoked on the part of the victim. The Characteristics of Students who are Bullies There are many common characteristics found in most bullies.Bosworth, Espelage and Simon (2001) opined that most bullies are male,popular, and often athletes. They have excellent social skills, with theability to attract many followers followerssee dairy herd. , and easily manipulate others. Bullies are psychologically strong and very popular among theirpeers. However, the peer status is important in terms of boosting theirwell being. Bullying behaviour is self reinforcing. When students findthat putting others down give them approval from their peers, they arelikely to do it repeatedly. Sometimes, they can easily butter up toadults, making them unsuspecting bullies (Bosworth, Espelage & Simon2001). Generally, a bully is someone who teases and intimidates otherstudents, although there are many other ways to bully a fellow student.Many people feel that the typical bully comes from a broken home, butthis is not necessarily true. Still, the less supervision a child getsat home, the more likely he is to be a bully. Different studies haveproved that most bullies look for a victim who is smaller, younger andweaker. As a practice, bullies have more aggressive attitudes towardstheir social surroundings and a positive attitude about violence.Furthermore, it has been shown by different surveys that bullies aresteered by impulses, they need to dominate others and do not show anyempathy for the victim. Rigby (1996) discussed two possible conceptualizations of thebully. One is a child who is vicious and uncaring, the product of adysfunctional family dysfunctional familyPsychology A family with multiple 'internal'–eg sibling rivalries, parent-child– conflicts, domestic violence, mental illness, single parenthood, or 'external'–eg alcohol or drug abuse, extramarital affairs, gambling, . This bully has an aggressive temperament, andhe/she is hostile and un-empathic in relations with others. The secondconceptualization con��cep��tu��al��ize?v. con��cep��tu��al��ized, con��cep��tu��al��iz��ing, con��cep��tu��al��iz��esv.tr.To form a concept or concepts of, and especially to interpret in a conceptual way: suggests that some bullies are in fact members of agroup that builds its strength on harassing vulnerable children who arenot members of their group. The bully may or may not be malicious inintent, and the members reassure themselves that no real harm is beingdone. Rigby (1996) called this type of bully a "passive bully"or "follower". As for girls, they experience a different form of bullying.Although it is a more indirect form of bullying, social manipulation isvery prevalent within females. Social manipulation can include manyactions, including spreading gossip, telling lies, betraying trust,passing notes, ignoring the victim, or excluding the victim (Anonymous,2001; Kenny, McEachan & Aluede, 2005). The Characteristics of Students who are Victims of Bully Victims of bullying are described as more anxious, careful andinsecure compared to other students in general. They are not aggressivebut have a negative self image. Olweus (1993) stated that bullyingvictim often lacks friends in the class and at school. Students exposedto long-term bullying can see the school environment as unfriendly,frightening, and go through a major part of school with anxiety andinsecurity. The major dependence which bullying victims feel towardstheir families can also be explained by their vulnerability and theirotherwise insecure situation. With respect to physical attributes,victims are physically weak than non-victims. Bosworth, Espelage and Simon (2001) asserted that 30% to 40% ofbullies show some level of depression, and their bullying is often a cryfor help. Most likely the victims will be both less confident andunpopular. Therefore, many victims react by becoming upset or crying asa way of dealing with their anger or fear. Victims have a tendency to bedepressed, anxious, shy and lonely (Drake, 2003). Rubin (2003) maintained that from previous research, victims tendto have a lower self-esteem and a high level of depression. Victims tendto be physically smaller, more sensitive, unhappy, cautious, anxious,quiet and withdrawn than other children (Bryne, 1994). Most victims ofbullying can be termed "passive" or "submissive sub��mis��sive?adj.Inclined or willing to submit.sub��missive��ly adv.sub��mis "victims (Olweus, 1994). They are generally insecure and non-assertive,and react by withdrawing and crying when attacked by other students. Inthis sense, they are vulnerable to being victimized, as bullies knowthese children will not retaliate. A less common characteristic, the"provocative victim", has also been described. Olweus (1994)classified this type of victim of bullying as a combination of bothanxious and aggressive traits, and these students sometimes provokeclassmates Classmates can refer to either: Classmates.com, a social networking website. Classmates (film), a 2006 Malayalam blockbuster directed by Lal Jose, starring Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Indragith, Sunil, Jagathy, Kavya Madhavan, Balachandra Menon, ... into victimizing them by their overactive o��ver��ac��tive?adj.Active to an excessive or abnormal degree: an overactive child.o and irritable irritable/ir��ri��ta��ble/ (ir��i-tah-b'l)1. capable of reacting to a stimulus.2. abnormally sensitive to stimuli.3. prone to excessive anger, annoyance, or impatience. behaviour. The Nature of Bullying Bullying can take many forms and has been categorized cat��e��go��rize?tr.v. cat��e��go��rized, cat��e��go��riz��ing, cat��e��go��riz��esTo put into a category or categories; classify.cat in many waysby various researchers. Pearce (1991) identified three different kindsof bullies: the aggressive one, the anxious one and the passive one. (a) the aggressive bully--is aggressive towards everybody, not justthe weak. The aggressive bulies are insensitive, domineering dom��i��neer��ing?adj.Tending to domineer; overbearing.domi��neer , lacking inself-control; but, contrary to the psycho-dynamic notion, they are alsohigh in self-esteem. Furthermore, most bullies would fall into thiscategory. (b). the anxious bully--is more disturbed. They share more of thevictim's characteristics, such as low self-esteem, insecurity andloneliness, emotionally unstable and provocative. They are met likely tobe victims themselves. (c). the passive bully--is the one who engages in bullying in orderto protect himself /herself and to achieve status. Apassive bully wouldbe easily dominated and led, would be more sensitive to the sufferingsof others but would do nothing about it and also would be reluctant toengage in active bullying. Langevin (2000) classified bully into four, these include: (a) Physical bullies- these are the easiest to identify. They actout their anger by hitting, shoving, or kicking their chosen target--orby damaging their victim's property. (b) Verbal bullies--they use words to hurt and humiliate theirtarget, through either name--calling, insult or persistent and harshteasing. (c) Relationship bullies--they spread nasty rumours about theirtarget. This behaviour is predominantly adopted by female bullies. (d) Reactive victims--these are victims of bullying who turn intobullies themselves. Of course, their having been victims of bullyingdoes not excuse their conduct; it only helps to explain it. Aside the above classifications, other researchers (i.e. Garrity,Jens, Porter, Sager & Short-Camilli, 2001; Rigby, 1996) noted thatforms of bullying can be basically categorized into five as follows:- (a) Physical aggressive (e.g. pushing, tripping, spitting) (b) Social alienation In sociology and critical social theory, alienation refers to an individual's estrangement from traditional community and others in general. It is considered by many that the atomism of modern society means that individuals have shallower relations with other people than they would (e.g. excluding, coercing, other to reject orexclude a person) (c) Verbal aggression (e.g. name calling, taunting, teasing) (d) Intimidation (e.g. threats, intimidating in��tim��i��date?tr.v. in��tim��i��dat��ed, in��tim��i��dat��ing, in��tim��i��dates1. To make timid; fill with fear.2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. , coercing one to dowhat they would not ordinarily do) (e) Relational bullying:- bullying that damages relationships (e.g.gossiping, spreading rumours, making racial slurs) Bullying can take the form of direct and indirect, overt or verysubtle, and it ranges in severity from mild to severe. There is overlapin the categorizations and again there is no one agreed upon Adj. 1. agreed upon - constituted or contracted by stipulation or agreement; "stipulatory obligations"stipulatorynoncontroversial, uncontroversial - not likely to arouse controversy categorization (Rigby, 1996). The more recent form of bullying is electronic bullying, which isotherwise known as digital bullying. This form of bullying is a new andinsidious insidious/in��sid��i��ous/ (-sid��e-us) coming on stealthily; of gradual and subtle development. in��sid��i��ousadj.Being a disease that progresses with few or no symptoms to indicate its gravity. development. It involves the sending of menacing messagesthrough telephone calls or by Email messages. In addition, youths alsocreate hate-filled web pages about a victim where they include personalinformation about the victim. This form of bullying is extra-ordinarilydamaging to the child who is being victimized by it (Aluede, 2006).Moreover, mobile phones are a popular choice for bullies. They providebullies with the perfect means of taunting their targets with littlefear of being caught. Text messages provide complete anonymity. Many"Pay--As--You--Go" mobile phones can be bought over thecounter and do not require proof of identity, nor is there any recordkept of the new owner. Calls made from these types of mobile phones aredifficult to trace (Anonymous, 2005). The Extent of Bullying Bullying among school children occurs worldwide. It takes place insmall schools, large schools, single sex, co-educational schools,traditional and progressive schools. It occurs in both primary andsecondary schools. The most common form of bullying for both sexes isverbal and includes teasing, harassment Ask a Lawyer QuestionCountry: United States of AmericaState: NevadaI recently moved to nev.from abut have been going back to ca. every 2 to 3 weeks for med. and name--calling. It is themost painful form and has the longest--lasting impact. However,extortion extortion,in law, unlawful demanding or receiving by an officer, in his official capacity, of any property or money not legally due to him. Examples include requesting and accepting fees in excess of those allowed to him by statute or arresting a person and, with , physical violence, nasty rumours, exclusion from the group,damage to property and threats are also regarded as bullying. Theplayground is the most common place for bullying to occur and mostchildren believe that bullying cannot be stopped. Bullying in schools across the world is beginning to assume aserious dimension. For example, in Australia, Prof. Ken Rigby reportedthat one student out of six between the ages of 9 and 17, is affected bybullying at least once a week. In American schools, there areapproximately 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million victims (Lumsdem,2002). For instance, in U.S., in a national study, Nansel, Overpeck,Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton and Scheidt (2001) found that about 30% of6th through 10th grade students had been involved in bullying incidentswith moderate or frequent regularity. Similar prevalence rates werefound in the State of Florida. For example, in a study by Bully Police,USA (n. d.) found that of the 2,701,022 school age children in Florida,approximately 442,157 students representing 16.37% were involved inbullying. Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Morton and Scheidt (2001)added that limited available data show that bullying is much more commonamong younger teens than older teens. As teens grow older, they are lesslikely to bully others and to be the targets of bullies. Rigby and Slee (1991) remarked that bullying occurs more frequentlyamong boys than girls. Teenage boys are much more likely to bully othersand also to be the targets of bullies. While both girls and boys sayothers bully them by making fun of the way they look or talk, boys aremore likely to report being hit, slapped or pushed. Teenage girls aremore often the targets of rumours and sexual comments. Also, in a study of fourth--through eight--graders, above 15% ofthe respondents reported being severely distressed by bullying and 22%reported academic difficulties stemming from maltreatment maltreatmentSocial medicine Any of a number of types of unreasonable interactions with another adult. See Child maltreatment, Cf Child abuse. by peers(Hoover & Oliver, 1996). Gallagber's study (as cited in Nanselet al, 2001) reported that one out of four children is bullied, and oneout of five defined himself/herself as a bully. In all, approximately282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools everymonth. In the same view, Vail Vail(vāl), town (1990 pop. 3,569), Eagle co., W central Colo., on Gore Creek, in the Gore Range of the Rocky Mts.; founded as a ski resort 1962, inc. as a town 1966. (2002) claimed that many students avoidpublic areas of the school such as the cafeteria cafeteria:see restaurant. and restrooms in anattempt to elude e��lude?tr.v. e��lud��ed, e��lud��ing, e��ludes1. To evade or escape from, as by daring, cleverness, or skill: The suspect continues to elude the police.2. bullies. For some students, the fear is so great thatthey avoid school altogether, hence everyday approximately 160,000students stay home from school because they are afraid of being bullied. Olweus (1993) opined that teenage boys target boys and girls boys and girlsmercurialisannua. ,teenage girls most often bully other girls, using more subtle andindirect forms of aggression than boys. For example, teenage girls,instead of physically harming others, they are more likely to spreadgossip or encourage others to reject or exclude another girl. Inaddition, a survey published in "Pediatrics in Review" revealsthat in Norway, 14% of children are either bullies or victims. In Japan,15% of primary school pupils say that they are bullied, while inAustralia and Spain, the problem prevails among 17% of the students. InBritain, one expert figures that 1.3 million children are involved inbullying. In Israel, Professor Amos Rolider of Emek Yizre'el Collegesurveyed 2,972 pupils in 21 schools. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the Jerusalem post,the professor found that "65% complained of being smacked, kicked,pushed or molested mo��lest?tr.v. mo��lest��ed, mo��lest��ing, mo��lests1. To disturb, interfere with, or annoy.2. To subject to unwanted or improper sexual activity. by fellow pupils" (Anonymous, 2003). Wet (2005)reported that in 1985, investigation on bullying conducted by theUniversity of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , it was found that 7% of theyouths who took part in the investigation victimized their fellowlearners; 9% indicated that they were victims of bullies. Furthermore,6% indicated that they were victims and bullies. Similarly, in aNorwegian study, in which 568,000 learners participated during1983-1984, it was found that 9% of the participants were "now andthen" "relatively regularly" or "regularly"victims of bullying; 7% were found guilty of bullying (Olweus, 1994). According to Limber, Flerx, Nation and Melton mel��ton?n.A heavy woolen cloth used chiefly for making overcoats and hunting jackets.[After Melton Mowbray, an urban district of central England.] , 1996 (cited inMcEachern, Kenny, Blake & Aluede, 2005), one out of 12 secondaryschool children in the Netherlands is "very regularly" or"regularly" bullied. Nansel et al (2001) found that 60.9% ofthe 207 participants in a research project in Gauteng indicated thatthey were bullied during the 2002 school year. Northmore's study(as cited in Wet, 2005) of Johannesburg Centre for School Quality andImprovement (CSQI) points out that 90% of the learners at a Johannesburgschool told CSQI that they were bullied in the previous year. In Nigeria, however, there are little or no adequate statisticalfacts (as at now) to show the number of students affected by bullying.Nevertheless, Umoh (2000) noted that cases of bullying have beenreported in many schools in Nigeria It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome. Command Secondary School,Ipaja,Lagos Nigeria This is an incomplete list of but that the deviant deviant/de��vi��ant/ (de��ve-int)1. varying from a determinable standard.2. a person with characteristics varying from what is considered standard or normal.de��vi��antadj. act is notusually given the desirable attention. Bullying has most of the timebeen ignored by many teachers, counsellors and school administratorsbecause of its silent but adverse effect. Some school personnel even seeit as not a serious problem and consequently pay little or no attentionto the behaviour. This lukewarm luke��warm?adj.1. Mildly warm; tepid.2. Lacking conviction or enthusiasm; indifferent: gave only lukewarm support to the incumbent candidate. attitude promotes the deviant behaviourand discourages researchers into bullying. This may be responsible forthe paucity pau��ci��ty?n.1. Smallness of number; fewness.2. Scarcity; dearth: a paucity of natural resources. of literature on bullying among secondary school students inNigeria (Asonibare, 1998, as cited in Idowu & Yahaya, 2006). The Effects of Bullying Bullying can have devastating dev��as��tate?tr.v. dev��as��tat��ed, dev��as��tat��ing, dev��as��tates1. To lay waste; destroy.2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. effects on victims. For the victimsof bullying, they go to school everyday fearing harassment, taunting andhumiliation. For all potential educators, it is very important torealize that bullying is a problem, so that we can work to prevent itnow or in the future (Anonymous, 2005). There are many repercussions repercussionsnpl → r��percussions fplrepercussionsnpl → Auswirkungen plof bullying that are quite shocking.According to Kerlikowske (2003) these include: (1) Children who are bullied are more likely to be depressed; 26%of girls who were frequently bullied reported depression as opposed to8% of girls who were not. Similarly the boys who were bullied andreported depression were 16% as against 3% who were not. (2) Victims are more likely to be suicidal su��i��cid��aladj.1. Of or relating to suicide.2. Likely to attempt suicide. , with 8% for girls and4% for boys, compared to 1% overall for non-victims of bullying. (3) Bullies are more likely to carry weapons, with 43% carryingweapons to school at least once a week, compared to 8% who were notcarrying weapons. (4) 46% of bullies are more likely to be injured in��jure?tr.v. in��jured, in��jur��ing, in��jures1. To cause physical harm to; hurt.2. To cause damage to; impair.3. while 16% ofbullies are not likely to be injured. (5) As one middle-school student expressed it "there isanother kind of violence, and that is violence by talking. It can leaveyou hurting more than a cut with knife. It can leave you bruised bruise?v. bruised, bruis��ing, bruis��esv.tr.1. a. To injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of (part of the body) without breaking the skin, as by a blow.b. inside" (National Association of Attorneys General The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) is an organization in the United States of U.S. state Attorneys General which, according to the organization itself, " , 2000). (6) Students who are targeted by bullies often have difficultyconcentrating on their school work, and their academic performance tendsto move from "marginal to poor" (Ballard, Tucky & Remley,1999). Typically, bullied students feel anxious, and this anxiety may inturn produce a variety of physical or emotional ailments (7) Rates of absenteeism ab��sen��tee��ism?n.1. Habitual failure to appear, especially for work or other regular duty.2. The rate of occurrence of habitual absence from work or duty. are higher among victimized students thanrates among non-bullied peers, as are drop-out rates. Nansel et al(2001) observed that "youths who are bullied generally show higherlevels of insecurity, anxiety, depression, loneliness, unhappiness,physical and mental symptoms, and low-self esteem. (8) Long--term effects on victims--persistent bullying during theschool years may have long--term negative effects on the victims manyyears beyond school (Olweus, 1993). Chronic bullies seem to maintaintheir behaviours into adulthood thus influencing their ability todevelop and maintain positive relationships (Oliver, Hoover &Hazier, 1994). (9) Drake (2003) found that victims of bullies tend to be lesspopular in school than other students not involved in bullying. As aresult of being bullied, 16% boys and 31% girls reported being absentfrom school in attempt to avoid being victimized (Rigby, 1997). (10) Bullying does not just affect the victim, but it also hasconsequences for the bully. First, for the victim, bullying can causephysical, academic, social and psychological problems. Some of thephysical symptoms include headaches and migraines (tool) MIGRAINES - A graphical user interface for evaluating and interacting with the Aspirin neural network simulation.Utilities exist for moving quickly from an Aspirin description of a network directly to an executable program for simulating and evaluating that network. , skin problems such aseczema eczema(ĕk`səmə), acute or chronic skin disease characterized by redness, itching, serum-filled blisters, crusting, and scaling. , psoriasis psoriasis(sôrī`əsĭs), occasionally acute but usually chronic and recurrent inflammation of the skin. The exact cause is unknown, but the disease appears to be an inherited, possibly autoimmune disorder that causes the , athletes foot, ulcers, sweating, trembling tremblingvisible muscle tremor caused by fever, fear, weakness, electrolyte imbalance, especially hypocalcemia and hypomagnesemia, and neuromuscular disease.trembling disease , shaking,palpitations and panic attacks panic attacks,n.pl distressing episodes where an individual experiences palpitations, anxiety, apprehension, sweating, trembling, etc. Can last several minutes and recur unpredictably. , irritable bowel syndrome irritable bowel syndrome(IBS), condition characterized by frequently alternating constipation and diarrhea in the absence of any disease process. It is usually accompanied by abdominal pain, especially in the lower left quadrant, bloating, and flatulence. , aches andpains in the joints and muscles; and frequent illness such as viralinfections viral infection,n an infection by a pathogenic virus. A virus acts on the cell nucleus, taking over the genetic material within the nucleus and replicating itself. and second, for the bully, they are seldom able to concludefriendship, they are often anti-social adults and the bullying issometimes the first stepping stone to juvenile crime and criminalactivities (Aluede, 2006; Wet, 2005). (11) The psychological scars left by bullying often endure foryears. For instance, the feelings of isolation and the loss ofself-esteem that victims experience seem to last into adulthood (Clarke& Kiselica, 1997). Conclusion Bullying is not just isolated behaviour on the part of itsperpetrators; instead it is part of a more generally anti-social andrule-breaking (conduct-disordered) behaviour pattern. Therefore,students (particularly boys) who bully others are especially likely toengage in other anti-social/delinquent behaviours such as vandalism,shop lifting, truancy and frequent drug use; and these may continue intoyoung adulthood. 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A paper presented at a workshoporganized by the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State Offa, Kwara State, is a city in central Nigeria with a population of 114,000 (as of 2005). The vegetation in Offa is savanna vegetation and the city is noted for its weaving and dyeing trade, using vegetable dyes made from locally grown indigo and other plants. . Vail, K. (2002).Words that wound. American School Board Journal,37-40. Retrieved on September 19, 2006 from http://www.bullying.com.au/pages/school/bullying. Wet. C. (2005). The nature and extent of bullying in Free Statesecondary schools. Retrieved on September 18, 2006 fromhttp//www.ericdigests. org/2003-1/bullying.htm Oyaziwo Aluede, Ph.D, Fajoju Adeleke, MBA MBAabbr.Master of Business AdministrationNoun 1. MBA - a master's degree in businessMaster in Business, Master in Business Administration , Don Omoike, Ph.D andJustina Afen-Akpaida, M. Ed. Ambrose Alli University Ambrose Alli University is a University in Nigeria established in 1981. It was established by the then governor of Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), Professor Ambrose Folorunso Alli (1979-1983). , Ekpoma. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed toProfessor Oyaziwo Aluede at oyaziwoaleude@yahoo.com.