Applying a Social-Ecological Model to Bullying
This week in my Philosophical Foundations of Health Systems Course (MHST 601) we were tasked with the assignment of looking at different spheres of influence on health. When researching this topic I found several different frameworks that exist based on the determinants of health. Each framework looks at how individual health is influenced by multiple external factors.
In preparation for my second assignment I have decided to apply Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory Model to the context of bullying. Urie Bronfenbrenner's model explains how the inherent qualities of a child and the external environment impacts their growth and development. His model looks at the individual as nested within five levels of external influence including the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem and the chronosystem.
What is Bullying?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), bullying is “characterized by the repeated exposure of one person to physical and/or emotional aggression including teasing, name calling, mockery, threats, harassment, taunting, hazing, social exclusion or rumours” (World Health Organization, 2010).
Bullying can take on many forms including physical, verbal, relational or cyber aggression and the imbalance of power between victim and perpetrator may be either physical, psychological or both (Liu & Graves, 2012).
Why is Bullying a Problem?
School bullying and peer victimization have become major social problems that are affecting children and youth all over the world. According to The World Health Organization (WHO), “bullying is a major public health problem that demands the concerted and coordinated time and attention of health-care providers, policy-makers and families” (World Health Organization, 2010)
The statistics around bullying are astonishing with at least 1 in 3 adolescent students in Canada have reported being bullied recently, and 47% of parents reporting having a child victim of bullying. Further, the rate of discrimination experienced among students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-Spirited, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) is three times higher than heterosexual youth (Government of Canada, 2012).
Effects of Bullying on Health
Bullying is an important public health problem that can have serious short-term and long-term implications on the physical and mental well-being of both the victim and the bully. A recent study has shown that there is a strong association between bullying and the development of mental health and behaviour problems (Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2018).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and the Government of Canada, children who are victimized are at increased risk of depression, generalized anxiety, sleep difficulties, loss of self-esteem and in extreme cases suicide. Children who are bullied have also suffered from a range of physical symptoms including headaches, and gastrointestinal problems (Brooks, 2016).
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that “students involved in bullying are at a significant risk of experiencing a wide spectrum of psychosomatic symptoms, running away from home, alcohol and drug abuse, absenteeism and, above all, self-inflicted, accidental or perpetrated injuries” (World Health Organization, 2010).
Children who bully others are more likely to develop substance abuse problems than those not involved in bullying, and are at increased risk of academic problems and violence later in life (Centres for Disease Control, 2016).
Children who are bullied are also more likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol compared to their peers who were not victimized. Victims participate in the use drugs and alcohol as a form of “self-medication” in order to “try to relieve painful feelings or control their emotions” (Rapaport, 2017).
Application of Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory in the Context of Bullying
Throughout my research it is clear that bullying does not occur in isolation and does not simply involve a bully and a victim. “Bullying and victimization in school are reciprocally influenced by the individual, family, school, peer group, nearer community, and society” (Liu & Graves 2012).
For my second assignment I will further examine the influencing factors on bullying behaviour at all five levels of Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory.
References
Brooks, M. (2016). Bullying: Serious, Lasting Psychological Consequences. Retrieved from
Canadian Bullying Statistics. (2012). Government of Canada. Retrieved from
Espelage, D.L. (2014). Ecological Theory: Preventing Youth Bullying, Aggression, and Victimization. Theory Into Practice, 53:4, 257-264. Retrieved from
Geoffroy, M.C., Boivin, M., Arsenault, L., Renaud, J., Perret, L., Turecki, G., Michel, G., Salla, J., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Tremblay, R.E., Côté, S.M. (2018). Childhood trajectories of peer victimization and prediction of mental health outcomes in mid adolescence: a longitudinal population-based study. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 15;190:E37-43. Retrieved from
Graves, N. (2011). Childhood Bullyin: A Review of Contructs, Contexts, and Nursing Implications. National Institutes of Health, 28(6): 556-568. Retrieved from
Hong, J.S. & Espelage, D.L., (2012). Aggression and Violent Behaviour. A review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological system analysis. Elsevier 17, 311-322. Retrieved from
Public Safety Canada. (2018). Bullying Prevention in Schools. Government of Canada. Retrieved from
Rapaport, L. (2017). Bullied Teens More Likely to Smoke, Drink and Use Drugs. Retrieved from
Rigby, K. (2003). Consequences of Bullying in Schools. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 48(9): 583-590. Retrieved from
Srabstein, J. & Leventhal, B.L., (2010). Prevention of bullying-related morbidity and mortality: a call for public health policies. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88:403-403. Retrieved from
Swearer, S.M., Hymel, S. (2015). Understanding the Psychology of Bullying:Moving Toward a Social-Ecological Diathesis-Stress Model. Educational Psychology Papers and Publications, 175. Retrieved from
Understanding Bullying. (2016). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved from