Bullies do long-term damage to themselves, as well as victims

MURRAY — In third grade, kids started taunting Tate Harris about his sexuality, "something I'm pretty sure I didn't even have at the time," says Harris, now 23. The bullying continued, sporadically, and usually limited to a fairly small group of thugs, through middle school.

In high school, when he joined a school choir, typed notes began to appear on his windshield and the outside of his locker. "You should drop out," said one. "You should kill yourself," said another.

He told the choir director he was quitting; he hoped that would end the torment. The choir director told him he couldn't give in. That teacher talked to each of his classes about bullying and bigotry and being mean. The letters stopped and Harris, today, is grateful he stuck it out. But it wasn't easy.

National data shows bullying, particularly in school settings, is common. "Every day, thousands of teens wake up afraid to go to school," notes TeensHealth.org, which compiles numbers and offers advice. It says millions of students are impacted, but "because parents, teachers and other adults don't always see it, they may not understand how extreme bullying can get."

Widespread destruction

The National School Safety Center reports that American schools house about 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of their victims. Nearly 3 in 5 students say they've witnessed bullying at school. Prime bullying time is fourth through eighth grade, The National Youth Violence Center says nearly 30 percent of students either do it or endure it. Children who are obese, gay or disabled are among the most likely to be targeted, as are students who are quiet and nonassertive. But anyone's a potential victim.

Bullying is fueled, says Alexandra Penn, by silence and denial.

The problem has been growing, despite receiving more attention from school systems and lawmakers, says Penn, founder of Champions Against Bullying, based in Los Angeles and in Toronto, Canada. She had seen the frequency and severity of bullying intensify as a crisis intervention specialist and special education counselor and she decided "a lot of things were slipping under the radar that needed attention." She formed the group, which offers interventions, education materials, teleconferencing and more. "Most children won't tell, afraid their parents will make it worse. Or they've been threatened by the bully. There's so much that comes into play with it, but there's also so much parents can do."

Topping that list, Rosalind Wiseman, author of "Queen Bees and Wannabes," told the Deseret News last year, are three simple sentence: "I am sorry this happened to you. Thanks for telling me. And we are going to work our way through this." Then do it. Don't give the child bad advice, like telling them to ignore it or to turn the other cheek or to not let the tormenter see that it bugs you. "Those things are all really ineffective," she said.

A child should be allowed to handle what's manageable himself or herself, but parents should be ready to help out if needed.

Long-term damage

What was once considered "a normative experience of childhood and adolescence that most children move past or outgrow," is being viewed differently by experts, according to the U.S. Department of Education's "Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies." Researchers now link bullying to a long-term harms for both students who bully and students who are bullied.

Being bullied can lead to poor psycho-social adjustment, which may show up as a difficulty in making friends and increased loneliness, elevated anxiety levels, aggressive-impulsive behavior problems and more. It notes victims have greater risk of poor self-esteem, depression, suicide ideations and attempts. Those who are chronically bullied have lower academic achievement, more truancy and more disciplinary problems.