BULLYING: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES, TYPES, CONSEQUENCES AND HOW TO ACT - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The bullying or harassment School is one of the worst problems they may face a child. It is defined as a physical or verbal aggression that is repeated during a certain period of time. Furthermore, to be considered as such, there must be an imbalance of power between the people involved.

Unfortunately, bullying is a much more common problem than most people think; And studies show that its incidence only increases as the years go by. According to the latest statistics, approximately 30% of school-age children have suffered some type of bullying in their lifetime.

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Unfortunately, it is not always easy to know when a child is being bullied. Various factors can make those affected by this problem decide not to talk about it. Several studies indicate that both teachers and parents tend not to know when one of these situations occurs about half the time.

In this article we will tell you everything you need to know about bullying, so that you are able to detect when it occurs. In addition, you will also discover what are the causes that lead to its appearance, and what you can do to prevent it or to act once it is already underway.

Symptoms

The signs that a child is being bullied will vary depending on factors such as their age or personality. However, there are several that appear almost every time a bullying situation occurs. Next we will see some of the most frequent.

One thing to remember is that finding just one or two symptoms of bullying in a child does not have to mean that they are being bullied. All these signs should be understood as part of a context, not as clear signs of any situation.

Unexplained injuries

It is common for children to present all kinds of cuts, bruises or small wounds; In most cases, this does not have to worry us, since they may have been caused by outdoor games, falls or small daily mishaps without major importance.

However, if a child has a lot of small bruises or bruises, and is unable to explain why they occurred or becomes defensive when asked, they may be being physically bullied.

Loss or breakdown of personal items

Another of the most frequent symptoms of physical bullying is the loss of objects such as electronic devices, books, cases… Another sign related to this is the breakdown of personal effects, such as clothing or school supplies.

Again, it is common for children, in their normal activity, to lose or damage their belongings; But if this happens very often, or if the children refuse to give an explanation, it could be a clear symptom of bullying.

Physical discomfort or attempts to fake it

When a child is being bullied, their discomfort at the thought of going to class will tend to be very high. You may have problems like a stomachache or headache or dizziness, all of which are common in high stress or fear situations.

On the other hand, even if the child does not feel this type of physical discomfort, they may try to fake it so that they do not have to go to their school. Due to this, if your child begins to have problems like those described above, he may have difficulties at school, among which a situation of bullying may be found.

Changes in appetite

If a child begins to not feel hungry when they get home or, on the contrary, eats much more than usual, they could be being bullied. Some people, when under a lot of pressure, binge to feel better; while others have their stomach completely closed.

On the other hand, some bullies steal food from their victims or do not allow them to eat, so this could also explain the increased appetite of a child.

Trouble sleeping

The high stress caused by a bullying situation can prevent the victim from sleeping properly. On some occasions, this translates into great difficulty falling asleep; in others, in recurring nightmares, which are frequently related to school.

Lack of self-esteem and negative mood

Children who are bullied often see themselves as worthless. In addition, their emotions end up becoming very negative over time, and they may even develop problems such as depression or anxiety if the bullying situation is very serious.

If your child suddenly starts crying much more than usual, expressing negative feelings or even expressing thoughts of suicide or wishes to flee from the situation he is in, it is very likely that he is suffering an episode of serious bullying.

Worsening school results

Due to all the problems that bullying brings, many of the victims are unable to concentrate properly in their classes. Therefore, their school performance tends to plummet.

This can be an especially telltale symptom if the child used to have very good grades that quickly start to decline.

Loss of friendships or inability to form them

Lastly, bullying usually means that the victim loses his support network. Most children avoid interacting with those who are experiencing bullying, to prevent it from spreading to them as well. Because of this, this problem often leads to isolation and a lack of friendships.

Causes

It is not known exactly what leads some children to bully others. There are many theories about it; Some of the factors that seem to influence the most are an aggressive personality, low self-esteem on the part of the bully, family problems, and the need to be the center of attention.

On the other hand, there are also many risk factors that can indicate that a child is prone to being a victim of bullying. Next we will see the three most frequent.

To be different

Any child who differs significantly from his peers in any way is more likely to end up being bullied. This occurs even if the difference itself is not bad, and the possibilities increase the more marked it is.

Some of the typical differences that victims of bullying present are the following: having a different body weight (overweight or extremely thin), not being heterosexual (or not looking like it), being more or less intelligent than the rest, wearing dental braces or glasses, or be taller or shorter than others.

Not having social support

If a child does not have a stable circle of friends, or if it is difficult for him to maintain cordial relationships with his peers, he is much more likely to end up being bullied. The causes for this can be varied: shyness, lack of social skills…

Being perceived as weak

Physically very strong children are rarely bullied. On the contrary, the majority of victims are those perceived as incapable of defending themselves, weak or "cowards."

Unfortunately, in many cases children who have these characteristics also tend to be different from the rest and to be socially isolated, which makes the problem worse.

Types

Depending on how the bullying occurs, a distinction is usually made between three different types of bullying: physical bullying, psychological bullying, and cyberbullying.

Physical bullying

Physical bullying is usually the most obvious. It includes all kinds of violent actions, such as punching and kicking, pushing, pinching, or tripping. It would also involve all those actions aimed at destroying the victim's objects.

This type of bullying usually occurs at the same time as the psychological one, but by itself it can cause all kinds of problems in the short and long term.

Psychological bullying

Psychological bullying includes all direct or indirect actions that are intended to attack the victim's self-esteem. Some of them are very obvious, such as insults, nicknames or racist or homophobic comments; while others are more indirect in nature. Verbal attacks are also known as verbal bullying.

Among the latter, we can find, for example, lies and rumors about the person, encouraging colleagues to exclude the victim, trying to damage his reputation or playing jokes to humiliate him in front of others.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a type of harassment that has recently appeared, which has to do with the use of new technologies, mainly social networks, computers and smartphones.

Among other actions, cyberbullying can include some such as sending hurtful messages, online exclusion from groups or social networks, spreading rumors through digital media, or even identity theft on one of these platforms.

Consequences

Bullying causes negative effects on both the harasser and the victim, in addition to those who experience the situation in the third person. However, the most serious consequences are those suffered by those who have been bullied, and affect their physical and mental health, and their school performance.

On a physical level, children who have suffered bullying can end up suffering serious injuries, or even some diseases due to the weakening of their immune system due to stress. At the school level, their grades may drop, and they are more likely to skip classes and drop out entirely.

But it is at a psychological level where the consequences of bullying are most seen. Children who suffer from it are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, to feel lonely, to have low self-esteem and to lose interest in all kinds of activities. These negative effects also tend to remain in adulthood as well.

How to act?

As adults, we can often feel helpless when we realize that a child is experiencing bullying. In general, if we try to intervene directly, it is more than likely that we will end up making what is happening worse and make the child more prone to bullying in the future.

What can we do, then, in a situation of this type? The most useful thing is usually to teach the child to fend for herself, while we give her our support to alleviate the worst consequences of bullying as much as possible.

On the one hand, we have to teach him that the fact that he is being bullied does not indicate that there is anything wrong with him, but that it is a reflection of the other person's problems.

On the other, it is necessary that we teach him to develop his social and emotional skills, so that he can adequately deal with whoever is bullying him and build a solid circle of support.

In this sense, skills such as assertiveness, being able to respond, ignoring the bully, and managing one's own emotions can be crucial for children. All this must be taught from love, and showing the little one that he can trust us and that he has our full support.

Prevention

Parents, teachers, and other adults responsible for the well-being of children play a crucial role in preventing bullying situations. There are many actions you can take to make bullying less likely in schools.

On the one hand, it is necessary to teach children what bullying is, as well as what are the negative consequences it has for everyone. In this sense, giving workshops in classrooms on bullying and how to combat it can be very helpful.

On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of teaching children to communicate properly, both with each other and with adults. This will make bullying situations less likely to occur in the first place, and allow those that do appear to be detected more quickly.

Finally, teaching children to respect those who are different, to put themselves in their shoes, and to understand other points of view can be extremely helpful in preventing bullying situations.

As you can see, there is a lot that adults can do to avoid bullying. Eradicating it completely is something that is in our power, and that is the responsibility of all those involved in the education of children.

References

1. Bullying at: Boston Children's Hospital. Retrieved on: October 19, 2018 from Boston Children's Hospital: childrenshospital.org.
2. “Bullying facts” in: Medicine Net. Retrieved on: October 19, 2018 from Medicine Net: medicinenet.com.
3. "Effects of bullying" in: Stop Bullying. Retrieved on: October 19, 2018 from Stop Bullying: stopbullying.gov.
4. "Types of bullying" in: National Center Against Bullying. Retrieved on: October 19, 2018 from National Center Against Bullying: ncab.org.au.
5. "How to prevent bullying" in: Stop Bullying. Retrieved on: October 19, 2018 from Stop Bullying: stopbullying.gov.