One type of aggressive behavior appearing frequently at an early age, is bullying (e.g., chronic teasing or
harrassing). The bully selects a victim, who is almost always a smaller, weaker person. The bully can
exert control and power over the weaker victim. To determine how aggressive or unacceptable behavior
is perceived by a society, it must first be run through a culture filter according to Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, PhD, and Maureen Taylor
(Breaking the Cluture of Bullying and Disrespect Grades K-8).
The aggressive behavior is often the result of emotional discomfort or feeling of a lack of power or control over some aspect of their own life.Often this anger is caused by some influences from parents, peers, siblings, or other social contacts that create feelings of powerlessness or by someone in authority having control, exhibited in a negative way, over some aspect of their own life.
In Westernized cultures, bullying is perceived as an individualized act and reflects on the bully rather than on the society or the bully's family unit. It is perceived as something that happens due to low self-esteem or self-worth in the aggressor, brought on by any number of social perceptions the bully may have developed during the process of learning socialization in the early developmental years of life. The negative behavior is seen as something that will negatively impact, for the most part, only the bully. The behavior is owned by the individual carrying out the aggressive behavior.
In Asian cultures, an act of bullying is seen as more of a negative reflection of the family, community, or social group to which the offender belongs. The bully is seen as an embarrassment to the cultural community. It is owned by the society.
Studies done in the United States see bullying in the US as a growing phenomenon, stating that 90 percent of middle school students have reported being bullied at some point in their time at school, beginning as early as preschool (Bernstein & Watson, 1997: Crick, Casas, & Ku, 1999; Egan & Perry, 1998). Reports by the Natrional Association of School Psychologists estimated that even 15 years ago, nearly 160,000 students miss school daily out of fear of being bullied. (Feldman, 1998; Pollack, 1998).
About 15 percent of students bully others at one time or another, and about half of them come from abusive homes, watch more violent television, and are found to misbehave at school. When they get in trouble, they lie their way out of consequences, blame others, and show little remorse for their actions.
Two studies (Needleman & Beringer, 1981; Rodning, Beckwith, & Howard, 1989) assert the validity of
biological and neuropsychological correlation to the development of aggression, such
as maternal drug abuse, poor prenatal nutrition, or exposure to toxic agents. Cravioto & Arrieta found, in a 1983 study, that
brain development may be disrupted after birth by deprivation of nutrition, stimulation, and affection.
This has frequently been reported in the media with reports of found children tied to bedposts, left
to their own defenses, in litter and surrounded in their own feces for days or even weeks. These children,
usually placed in foster homes, often have a difficult time adjusting to a functional family life. Their
behavior may be aggressive or regressive-both of which create difficulty for the family attempting to
care for such neglected children.
