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Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

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Jessica M. Tabor<br />

<strong>Purdue</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>Calumet</strong><br />

Bullying: The Characteristics and Consequences<br />

Susan has decided she does not want to attend school today. Her parents ask her why and Susan is hesitant to say. Susan<br />

is 12 years old and in 7 th grade. She has friends, but she also has a bully. Susan encounters her bully every morning in<br />

homeroom and every afternoon in the cafeteria. Susan is afraid to be at school because she doesn’t want to keep being<br />

picked on and pushed around by her bully. Her self-esteem has dropped and her love of school is fading. Her bully is<br />

taking her joy away from her.<br />

Bullying is no longer confined to the playground or the break room at work. Bullying has expanded<br />

to cyber space. Some think that bullying should be handled by the parents when some argue that bullying<br />

needs to be something school should try and eliminate. However, bullying laws have now been put into<br />

place because the government believes this issue is becoming more of a problem. There are pre-determined<br />

characteristics of what a bully should look like or how a bully should act. Bullying has taken on a whole new<br />

definition. The focus of this paper will discuss the history of bullying, current laws of bullying in the state of<br />

Indiana, if any, forms of bullying, the typical profile of bullies and then the profiles of a usual victim of a<br />

bully and conclude with how to help those that bully and the victims of bullying and also the future of<br />

bullying.<br />

Foundations of Bullying<br />

Bullying is not a new problem, just a more recognized one. Researchers say that bullying<br />

has been around for decades; in literature, on television and now more prominently, on the computer. Any<br />

type of bullying which can consist of but is not limited to cyber bullying, physical bullying, verbal and<br />

workplace bullying is a form of abuse. Bullying is an act of repeated aggressive behavior in order to<br />

intentionally hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving<br />

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