While constitutional factors play a part in aggressive behaviour, it is recognised that factors within the home, school and wider society influence the development of aggressive behaviour. It is therefore more likely that bullies are not ‘born’ but made.

From birth, children learn from those around them, at home, and later at school for both good and ill. If aggressive behaviour is not challenged in childhood, there is a danger that it may become habitual.

Factors which contribute to aggressive behaviour in the home are:

Lack of love and care
Too much freedom
Inconsistent discipline
Permissive management of aggressive behaviour
Violent emotional outbursts on part of adults
Excessive physical punishment
Cruelty

Factors which contribute to aggression in school are:

Inconsistent and inflexible rules
Poor staff morale
Inadequate supervision
Punishment that is too harsh, abusive or humiliating
Few incentives and rewards for non-aggressive behaviour
Curriculum that affords few feelings of success and achievement

Other factors in wider society include violence portrayed on cinema screens and on television. Research suggests that children who constantly view violence on TV and video develop more aggressive tendencies and less empathy with victims of aggression. This is especially true of children who experience violence in their home and their neighbourhood as part and parcel of their daily lives.

Factors which contribute to aggression in school are:

Inconsistent and inflexible rules
Poor staff morale
Inadequate supervision
Punishment that is too harsh, abusive or humiliating
Few incentives and rewards for non-aggressive behaviour
Curriculum that affords few feelings of success and achievement

Characteristics of a Bully

Contrary to often popular portrayal, children who bully do not all share the same traits. Bullies can be identified by how they act, not how they look, and do not vary in appearance from their non bullying peers. (O’Moore & Kirkham, 2001) However they do tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:

A strong need to dominate socially/feel powerful/be in control
Low level of frustration and are easily angered
Low self-control and are impulsive and reactive
Not anxious
Do not take responsibility for their behaviour but instead blame the victim
They have a tough attitude
See aggression as a favourable quality
They are oppositional, defiant and aggressive
They are insensitive and derive pleasure in hurting others, including animals
Lack emotional empathy
Engage in other forms of anti-social, rule-breaking behaviour
Loud and attention seeking
May have been bullied themselves

Motivation

Motivation

Bullying can be motivated by:

Envy or jealousy
Boredom
Competing for attention/social status – satisfying need to dominate
Avoid victimisation – getting retaliation in first

Bullying can also be symptomatic of a conduct disorder, which is more likely to be anti-social than neurotic

Pure Bullies & Bully-Victims

Research points to only two types of bullies. Pure bullies, and those who both bully and are themselves bullied (bully-victims).

Pure Bullies

Pure bullies tend to be the more common type of bully, and tend to be domineering, fearless and show little empathy for others. They have a positive attitude to aggression and tend to target their victims in a predatory or a proactively aggressive manner. They also:

Tend to hang together to reinforce their behaviour or have ‘hangers on’
Will deny their behaviour if challenged and try to blame the victim
Are prone to moral disengagement and will rationalise harmful acts against others.
Expect positive outcomes from their negative behaviours (e.g. increase in self esteem, or status, peer admiration)
Have lower self esteem than those who did not bully

Bully-Victims

Bully-Victims tend to be similar in type to what are known as ‘proactive’ or ‘aggressive’ victims. These tend to be perceived as being socially inept, confrontational with an impulsive nature, and poor self control, with a tendency to speak without thinking. Bully Victims tend to:

Have fewer friends than pure bullies
Have a higher proportion of Aspergers / ADHD sufferers
While as tough minded, they appear more neurotic than pure bullies
Resemble victims by being rejected and isolated by their peers, and bullies by being negatively influenced by their peers they interact with.

Some research (Unnever, 2005) suggests that that bully victims have been more harshly treated within their home environment, coming from a more chaotic background with less parental involvement than their peers.

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Why do people Bully?

Motivation

Pure Bullies & Bully-Victims

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