NEEDS | YOUTHS AND BULLYING

NEEDS OF YOUTHS WHO EXPERIENCED BULLYING IN SCHOOL

Through a study conducted by Koh and Tan (2008) as well as other evidences (as cited), there are TWO NEEDS that are important and we will need to focus on it.

click me to read more on the study!

WE NEED HELP WITH.....

1) learning how to cope with bullying

drawn by:Keicia

When youths are bullied, they go experience a series of emotions that affects their well being.

Their daily lives are affected by the inability to cope with the reactions after being bullied.

The inability to cope with the bullying can be seen through 3 categories. (changes in emotions and daily life routines, Suicidal thoughts,as well as self harm)

Therefore, learning how to cope with bullying in terms of their emotions and behavior is important for their well-being. Youths are still growing and they deserve to have a peaceful schooling life without major disruptions.

Drawing of a girl crying. By Keicia

Based on a study by Koh and Tan (2008),

25% of youths in the study felt bad about themselves
16% of the youths cried when the incident was recalled
almost half of the youths felt sad after being bullied
32% from secondary school experienced a change in appetite

Crying is normal but when youths cry after the incident is recalled, it shows how they are still holding on to what happened and they are badly traumatized .

Youths do not know how to manage their emotions caused by bullying and therefore crying seemed like the easiest way to express themselves and release their pain.

Youth's daily activities like eating is also affected, showing how badly they are coping with the bullying. The stress of being in a constant state of sadness can affect youth's daily routines (Ben-Joseph, 2020).

If youths adopt good coping habits, such instances where meals are skipped will not happen.

evidences of youth's reaction after being bullied

6% of the youths in secondary school had suicidal thoughts (Koh & Tan, 2008).

Based on a study, individuals who experienced verbal bullying are 8.4 times more likely to have suicidal intentions( Alavin, et al. 2017).

More than 2 youths commit suicide every month in 2015 and experts mentioned that it might be related to cyber bullying (Tai, 2016).

This shows how youths are not coping well after being bullied as they are allowing their emotions after being bullied to take over them, choosing to end their lives just to avoid the bullies.

Youths need to know that there are other ways to avoid being bullied and to not let the emotions ruin their future.

Therefore, youths need to learn how to cope as it allows youths to know how to manage themselves well to prevent them from even having the thought of ending their lives.

Source: ArishaRay,Getty Images (from The Guardian, 2017)

10% of youths from secondary school self harmed (Koh and Tan, 2008).
it was also seen in a survey that cyber bullying is linked to youths self harming in Singapore (Sin, 2016).

Similarly, such behavioral reactions to bullying shows how youths are not able to cope well. According to BBC, "Self-harm is an expression of how someone is feeling, it's not the problem itself, an expression of a very difficult emotional distress". This shows how emotionally affected youths are after being bullied and they choose to self harm just to release the stress or replacing the physical pain they are facing.

Youths need to know that there are other healthy ways to deal with the stress and sadness they are feeling after being bullied. For example, writing it down or listening to music. They need to learn how to cope with their feelings towards bullying to prevent such harm they are causing to themselves.

2) Having a sense of safety

Youths often feel scared after being bullied as they do not know when the bullies would target them again.

They often want someone to be by their side or an environment to feel more at ease to relax and seek help

Youths needing a sense of safety can be seen through 3 categories as well. ( Skipping school, daily life affected due to the bullies and not sharing about their incidents).

evidences of youth's reaction after being bullied

9% of secondary school youths were afraid to go to school after being bullied. 11% of them did not go to school (Koh & Tan, 2008).

According to Lim (2018), frequently bullied students were more likely to be skipping school. 13% of students polled that they skipped one day of school.

Based on an article by The Straits Times, students would lie about having stomach ache to skip school because they were bullied (Awang & Oh, 2020).

Skipping school shows how youths are scared of seeing the bullies again and want to avoid them as much as possible to prevent going through the same experience. They start seeing the school as a "war zone" where it is not safe for them to go to. This shows how youths need a sense of safety as they are skipping school largely because they feel scared and they do not want to go through the incidents again.

Drawing of a youth being scared and hiding from the bully. By Keicia

Adding on, based on Koh and Lim (2008),

9% of youths felt scared after being bullied
about 1/4 of the youths had problem concentrating in class
23% of them had trouble sleeping at night

Finding it hard to focus in class and sleeping at night are mainly due to the fear of bullies coming back to target them. Hence, youths are constantly taking notice of their surroundings trying to see if the bullies are nearby. Therefore, a sense of safety is needed that they can perform daily tasks as per normal since they know that they are safe from the bullies even when they are alone.

evidences of youth's reaction after being bullied

Source: Podlesnyak Nina, Shutterstock (from The Journal.ie, 2015)

17% of youths did not tell anyone about the bullying (Koh & Tan, 2008).
One student only admitted that she was bullied for two weeks only after being questioned by her mother (Awang & Oh, 2020).
those who are alone in school are more likely to be bullied (Gordon, 2019).

Youths are still keeping the incidents to themselves showing how they do not feel safe sharing. Youths are scared that once they share about being bullied, the bullies will come back to hurt them (Gordon, 2020). Youths are also having little support in school as they are mostly alone.

Thus, youths need to know that they are safe wherever they are. They need support from peers and being surrounded by people they can trust is important for them.

Therefore, the sense of safety is lacking as youths are not having enough support in school and they are constantly holding back from expressing themselves. All these are due to the fear of bullies. They would rather keep it to themselves to prevent any further harm.