Recommended Articles & References

Below is a list of excellent resources that will provide you with the latest research regarding school bullying and its affects on students. Sources are listed in alphabetical order by last name of the author. A brief description is written about each journal article or book to give you a synopsis of what you will find. Most of these resources can be found by doing a Google search of the article name or the article’s doi. Some references include a direct link to the article. Nonetheless, by doing a quick read through of these summaries you will get a general idea of what the leading experts are saying about this issue.

Bullying, School Violence, and Climate in Evolving Contexts: Culture, Organization, and Time

Asṭor, R., & Benbenishty, R. (2018;2019;). Bullying, school violence, and climate in evolving contexts: Culture, organization, and time. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190663049.001.0001

Ron Avi Astor and Rami Benbenisthty, social science professors at the University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA] and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, respectively, review school bullying and violence trends from 2005 until the present. Their research reveals that bullying has only become more prominent in recent years. They highlight how both technological advances and growing numbers of students that identify as gay and lesbian have given bullies more opportunities to terrorize their peers. Policies and mandates have been developed in schools that were previously nonexistent due to the changing landscape of student-to-student interactions. As the below study shows, some of the bullyings that students experience are not only more intricate than they were in times past but may also lead to increased cases of mental illness.

School Bullying and Mental Health: Risks, Intervention and Prevention

Cowie, H., & Myers, C. (2018;2017;). School bullying and mental health: Risks, intervention and prevention (1st ed.). Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group. doi:10.4234/9781315537733

Cowie and Meyers completed a thorough study about how bullies may impact students in such a great way that it may lead them to become mentally ill. Students who are bullied are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, or sexual intimacy issues as adults. Their findings also reveal that bullies may victimize others because they might be motivated by a mental illness, which may stem from their past negative experiences. The authors suggest that bullies do not often gain compassion from others but there may be a treatable root cause to their unhealthy acting out towards their peers, such as fatherlessness and/or depression. They make a startling connection in that children who get bullied at home are more likely to attract bullies at school. The following two authors below offer bullying-resistance advice to parents from a biblical worldview.

Combating Bullies in Your Child’s Life

Daly, J. (2018, November 1). Combating Bullies in Your Child’s Life. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://jimdaly.focusonthefamily.com/combating-bullies-in-your-childs-life/

Author, Jim Daly, tells the story about an eighth-grader who had such terrible run-ins with bullies at school every day that it caused him to want to commit suicide. The boy had a friend who encouraged him to find his worth in Christ and not in all of the other things that boys their age consider to be praiseworthy. The author goes on to suggest that being bullied greatly increases the chances of committing suicide, so he offers parents tips about how to recognize when their child is being bullied. Daly also mentions that even though bullying is happening inside of schools that teachers and administrators do not always recognize it when it is happening. The post below speaks about how when a child is bullied it may be seen as a form of spiritual warfare as described in scripture.

When Bullying Becomes Spiritual Warfare

Daniels, R. (2014, July 31). When bullying becomes spiritual warfare. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2014/july/when-bullying-becomes-spiritual-warfare.html

A previous article mentions how bullying may lead to mental anguish. In this article, Robin Daniels takes the conversation a step further by speaking about bullying as much as a spiritual issue as it is a mental one. The author suggests spiritual warfare as something that a student may be experiencing while they are being bullied. The Bible mentions that spiritual warfare is a type of battle that can only be won through prayer and by relying upon God. This war that takes place within a child’s spirit when someone is making fun of them or threatening their well-being may make it more difficult for these children to see God for who He is in actuality. The misconceptions of God can be redirected by Christian parents, teachers, and administrators who believe in God. The article encourages parents that even non-religious school officials can be of assistance. Guidance counselors and others in the school may help them to fight their spiritual battles by addressing the psychological struggles that they deal with as a result of the bullying that they receive.

School Bullying and Moral Reasoning

Grundherr, M., Geisler, A., Stoiber, M., & Schäfer, M. (2017). School bullying and moral reasoning competence. Social Development, 26(2), 278-294. doi:10.1111/sode.12199

The authors, Grundherr, Geisler, Stoiber & Schäfer seek to identify the reason why some students do not bully others. They hypothesize that a healthy child has a moral understanding that bullying is wrong and, therefore, they do not participate in it as a matter of principle. However, the authors’ hypothesis is disproven by their research because they find that even though a child may have high moral aptitude it may not necessarily stop them from bullying someone else. The authors suggest that bullying has as much to do with peer pressure as it does with individual morality. They found ultimately that children are less likely to participate in bullying if they receive sufficient moral training, but that is still not a guarantee that they will counteract the decisions of their peers.

What Does the Bible Teach Us about Bullying?

Hardin, N. (2018, September 26). What does the Bible teach us about bullying? Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/what-does-the-bible-teach-us-about-bullying

Neal encourages readers to search through the word of God to find practical answers about how to address bullying in a way that is both biblical and practical. The author describes bullying as a physical, verbal, or social power struggle between the bully and the victim. Bullying is usually a group event and one in which Christians should not participate. The Bible warns in 1 John 4:20 that even though those in the world do evil things that followers of Christ should never be accused of doing such things. Isaiah 1:17 encourages Christians to defend those who are being bullied.

School Bullying and Bare Life: Challenging the State of Exception

Horton, P., Pedagogik och didaktik, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, & Filosofiska fakulteten. (2019). School bullying and bare life: Challenging the state of exception. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 51(14), 1444-1453. doi:10.1080/00131857.2018.1557043

Horton suggests that even though there is now more awareness about the dangers of bullying than ever before that the number of children being bullied is steadily increasing. Previous research about the causes and prevention of bullying is called into question as not having firm enough theoretical groundwork. The best scholarship indicates that simply reprimanding a bully will not cause the behavior to stop. The author questions why bullies contradict social norms by engaging in behavior that is universally considered to be unacceptable. The fact that some lives are valued less than others is one of the greatest causes and problems with bullying, so the author sets out to challenge this incorrect way of thinking.

School Bullying as a Quality Issue in Educational Institutions

Manna, R., Calzone, S., Adinolfi, P., & Palumbo, R. (2019). School bullying as a quality issue in educational institutions. The TQM Journal, 31(2), 274-291. doi:10.1108/TQM-10-2018-0130

Italian researchers, Manna, Calzone, & Palumbo approach the issue of bullying from a quality assurance standpoint. School bullying interferes with the educational experience for all students who are associated with the bullying. Bullying is distinguished as either verbal, relational, or physical instances with physical bullying being more common amongst adolescent males. Although verbal bullying does not cause any visible damage, the consequences can be just as devastating, not only for the victim but for the bully as well. Although the research was conducted in Italy, the findings are very similar to instances in North American schools, which suggests that the causes and consequences of bullying may be universal.

How to Respond When Your Kids are Bullied

McKee, J. (2018, October 24). How to Respond When Your Kids Are Bullied. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/how-to-respond-when-your-kids-are-bullied/

Jonathan McKee provides research to Christian parents via Focus on the Family that further helps parents to approach the epidemic of school bullying from a subtle yet still biblical worldview. Bullying is more intense than it was in previous decades because social media allows it to grow exponentially even when students are no longer on school grounds. Many children may feel helpless to escape the constant torment by their peers online as mentioned below. The Bible tells believers who they are and are not in Christ, and similarly, parents must remind their children of who they are and of the positive traits that they possess. Scripture commands believers to make time to assemble regularly and similarly, McKee advocates community inclusion in positive activities with others as a remedy to the emotional and social isolation that bullying may produce.

Kids on Social Media and Gaming

Stopbullying.gov. (2018, February 26). Kids on Social Media and Gaming. Retrieved January 29, 2020, from https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/kids-on-social-media-and-gaming

The federal government initiative, Stopbullying.gov, educates readers about ways in which social media and video games are being used to bully students. The creation of the internet has generated a new form of bullying, unbeknownst to previous generations, called cyberbullying. Parents are educated about the various social media apps and online gaming sites that their children are using in which they may become victims of bullying. Some children hide behind the anonymity of social sites which may encourage otherwise reluctant bullies to show their true colors. Parents should frequently monitor who their children are interacting with online and should encourage healthy dialogue with children so that they are aware of any unwanted interactions with cyberbullies.