What is Bullying?

Bullying is a complex and abusive form of peer violence that remains one of the most common forms of violence experienced by children and youth. A widely accepted definition of bullying is one from Dan Olweus. He defined bullying as when a student or several students say or do mean or hurtful things to another student who has a hard time defending himself or herself.

This is very similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) definition: bullying is any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings or current dating partners, that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance, and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social, or educational harm.

Whichever definition is used, three key components of bullying are:

• Bullying is aggressive behavior that intends to cause harm
• Bullying is usually repeated or has the potential to be repeated
• Bullying occurs in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power or strength.

Direct bullying involves a confrontation with a person and can include:

• Verbal bullying: any type of communication that causes harm to another (taunting, teasing, name-calling, racial slurs, extortion, threats).
• Physical bullying: harming a person or property (shoving, hitting, tripping, damaging a person’s property).

Indirect bullying is a more subtle and covert act such as:

• Relational aggression: harm to someone’s self-esteem or group acceptance (spreading rumors, intentionally excluding someone, social isolation).
• Cyberbullying: the use of technology to harass, make fun of, or intimidate another person (posting derogatory comments, using technology to spread rumors or make threatening comments).