Anthony F. Tasso, Ph.D., ABPP Jordan DeGroat, M.A. Candidate in Counseling Frank DiBella, M.A. Candidate in Counseling Fairleigh Dickinson University Department of Psychology & Counseling

Bullying: Prevalence Rates 88% of highschoolers report witnessing bullying (Hazler, Hoover, & Oliver, 1991) 17% students bullied with regularity, 19% bullied others (Nansel, et. al., 2001) 2.8 million students reported being pushed, shoved, tripped or spat on (Federal Dept of Education, 2007) Cyberbullying: 12% report being aggressive to someone, 4% target of online aggression, 3% both (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004) Cyberbullying: 1 in 3 victims didn’t know bully (Slone & Smith, 2008)

Bullying Criteria & Types Criteria Intention (to do harm) Repetitiveness Imbalance of power Types of Bullying Physical/direct Verbal /indirect Social/relational Cyberbullying

Bullying Characteristics Bullies: more aggressive, easy to anger, poor interpreter of others, interpret ambiguous stimuli w/ fear, lack empathy, high social intelligence Bully victims: overacceptance of personal weaknesses, poor self-concept, inadequacy, self-blame Bully victim subtypes: Submissive/passive victim – anxious, negative self- image, socially isolated, internalizer Provocative/aggressive victim – anxious, negative self- image, social isolation, internalizer & externalizer

Bullying, Power & Peers Implicit: forms from social status and depends on acceptance by peers Explicit: elicits fear, submission, and compliance from the victim(s) Peer Group Norms: Can provide a variety of positive attributes to one's social development Potential to elicit the worst in an individual Influencing their individual identity Autonomy

Bullying Peer Dynamics "in group" "out group" social identity self esteem perceived higher social status social norms popularity social position

Development of Bullying Family/Home environment Parenting styles/support Consistent vs. inconsistent parenting Attachment styles Secure Insecure

Psychodynamics of Rage & Anger Heinz Kohut (1971, 1977): narcissistic injury begets narcissistic rage Henri Parens (2008): hostile destructiveness via excessive displeasure Melaine Klein (1957): envy Stewart Twemlow (2000): aggressiveness via historical experience of victimization and humiliation *splitting, primitive rage, projection, displacement, devaluation, and transient omnipotence to counter humiliation and shame

Bully Bystanders: Typologies & Characteristics (Twemlow, Fonagy & Sacco, 2010) Bully (Aggressive) Bystander Victim (Passive) Bystander Alter Ego Bystander Altruistic Bystander Vicarious excitement from viewing aggressive acts Fearful, apathetic, helpless manipulate bullying encounters to self-promote Compassionate, helpful Establishes ways in which to assure/ facilitate bullying Passively and fearfully drawn into the bullying process Establish a work- related goal to align with popular groups Mature and effective use of individuals and groups

Cyberbullying Text-messaging, s, chat rooms, facebook Greatest amount of deindividuation though initial incident may be one time mass dissemination makes it highly repetitive Cyberbully victims: often heighten anxiety and fear b/c, a) perpetrator unknown, b) no safe haven

Bullying Interventions: An Ecological Approach (Swearer & Doll, 2001) 6 Assertions of bullying Bullying viewed as constellations of behaviors Attention to intrapsychic factors Families need to be part of interventions Bystanders need to be targeted Teachers and adults need to be targeted Upper level administrators must be involved

Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment (CAPSLE) (Twemlow, et. al., 2010) CAPSLE philosophy - Positive Climate Campaigns - Classroom Management - Peer and Adult Mentorship - The Gentle Warrior Physical Education Program - Reflection Time *mentalization key to addressing the Bully-Victim- Bystander dynamics

Contact Information Frank DiBella (973) Jordan DeGroat (973) Anthony Tasso (973) Department of Psychology & Counseling Fairleigh Dickinson University 285 Madison Avenue (M-AB2-01) Madison, NJ 07940