Perceived Prevalence of Teasing and Bullying Predicts High School

Dropout Rates

Perceived Prevalence of Teasing and Bullying Predicts High School

Dropout Rates

Bullying is generally defined as largely unprovoked, negative physical or psychological actions perpetrated repeatedly over time between bully/ies and victims. Bullying can cause severe emotional damage for years, and the children who are bullied aren't the only ones who suffer (Bandyopadhyay 2009). The bullies also undergo serious emotional trauma, which in turn causes them to bully other children. Bullying can lead to fear of school, absenteeism, and stunted academic progress, which in turn are precursors to dropping out of school(Huang 2012). Teens today face a lot of pressures. Many students deal with difficult life circumstances that prevent them from focusing on the future. They feel trapped in their situations with no hope of getting out. This can lead to a loss of interest in school and prioritizing other things over their education. What they may not realize is that dropping out of high school will actually prevent them from accomplishing their goals(Almeida2010). Labor market studies show that 6 out of 10 jobs require at least two to four years of college. Dropouts make up the majority of those who are unemployed. They are more likely to commit crimes, abuse drugs and alcohol, become parents at a young age, and live in poverty. Dropouts are disproportionately low-income students and the highest percentage of drop outs occur among Hispanic and African-American students. (Baly 2011)

The survey method was adopted for the study. Two research instruments were used for the study, they are the instrument on bullying and the instrument on reasons for drop out from school. For the purposes of this article, peer victimization and peer aggression are used broadly to encompass all forms of verbal and physical aggression between children and youth, whereas bullying is used when referring to studies that specifically addressed bullying. Teasing can have both playful and hostile connotations in everyday usage, but here is limited to derogatory behavior, such as criticizing someone's personal appearance or clothing. There is no convention that teasing requires an imbalance of power, so it can be regarded as a form of peer aggression that may or may not meet the criteria for bullying. We assessed the prevalence of teasing and bullying, as perceived by students and teachers, in order to gain a broader measure of the potential impact of peer victimization on all students in the school, beyond the impact of personal victimization.

According to the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, children who are bullied may suffer from low self-esteem, as well as other serious emotional issues such as chronic anxiety and depression (Jimerson 2008). Bullying may keep kids from succeeding in school. Their anxiety, or other emotional issues caused by bullying, may make it impossible for them to concentrate on their studies or to succeed at extracurricular activities. Adults who bullied others as children may continue bullying their peers as adults. This can be a problem in the workplace for many people, particularly ...