Examining Student Responses to Frequent Bullying, Article Critique Example

The purpose of the study “Examining Student Responses to Frequent Bullying” was to explore whether there are discrete groups of children who display similar patterns of responses to these bullying, to determine the level of associations between the responses, the characteristics of the victimizations, and the co-occurrence of externalizing and internalizing symptoms.

Hypothetically, Waasdorp and Bradshaw (2011), believed that given the possibility that children who are victimized at least twice during a specific monthly period,  are likely to use different types of strategies to respond to the threat of frequent bullying, a latent class approach when applied will more effectively reveal (a) the  overall patterns across genders and developmental levels, (b) the characteristics of victimization, and (c) the bullying behaviors, so that greater understanding can evolve for future  therapeutic uses in the broader school educational institutions.

In terms of the methodology, the data was collected  from a population of 10,979  Grade 6-12 students  via an online anonymous survey across the Maryland public school district to ensure confidentiality and accuracy, and entails 55%., 32%, and 13% respectively of urban, suburban and rurally located entities.

Bullying was defined to the entire diverse population, taken from middle and high schools, and 76% was selected because they fall in the best fit category of  those who were victimized at least two or three times within the last monthly period before the survey.

Following the approval of their parents and the Education Board, students were provided with protected passwords to the website, and under the supervision of the Language Arts teachers, were questioned regarding their gender, grade and school, before placed in batches of 12-15 and given the opportunity to choose from among thirteen different options regarding how they responded to being bullied in the recent past.

Descriptive analyses were later applied to the data to explore the gender and developmental differences in the range of responses received, and LCA statistical package equipped with Mplus 5.21 were later deployed to determine the discrete classes of students that utilized similar strategies in their response to the victimization attacks against them.

The researchers Waasdorp and Bradshaw (2011) had to compute five indices of model fit to determine the best fit for the different categories that evolved during the analysis, in order to competently handle the common patterns of behaviors that was shared among genders from the different schools.

The results showed that 59% of the girls and 66%v of the boys from the Middle School populations consistently endorsed four regular responses from the 13 available when faced with victimization, while in the High School the ratio in the same order was 65.3 % and 55.9% respectively.

Boys responses at the Middle School were found to be, (a) getting into argument, (b) walk way (c) ignore,  and (d) do nothing, while girls responded similarly in all those areas covered by the boys, except  in terms of telling another student, where they exceeded them by as much as 21%.

The male gender at High Schools responses exceeded the 40% range consistently, with regard to bullying back, getting into argument, hitting and kicking, walking away and ignoring their attackers, while in comparison, girls scored above the 46% range consistently in terms of getting into argument, telling other students, walking away and ignoring their bullies.

The study has implicitly failed to provide a comprehensive and foolproof list of strategies that all students from the different schools could successfully apply consistently, to thwart the threats from bullies, but strategies like walking away, telling parents, telling another student and doing nothing seems to form an excellent foundation from which other research could be launched to provide such urgently needed requirement in the social life of the educational system.

Based on the high percentage of responses among both genders, in terms of getting into argument, bullying back and hitting and kicking, it seems a lack of social skills is seriously in short supply at both the Middle and High Schools selected in the population sample, and the report should provide the impetus for school authorities to develop the appropriate curriculum to address this critical developmental issue.

On reflection, it would be difficult to objectively argue against the point that more research is urgently required to more effectively measure the impacts of bullies on students who often  internalize their symptoms while being subjected to direct and indirect  forms of victimization, as well as those who externalize their responses, after becoming chronically abused;  to see how the careers of these persons evolve and to facilitate the collection of appropriate empirical data that may used to draw life changing conclusions for future applications.

Response

This article was selected because, with the application of the relatively new latent classical approach theory, provides for teachers, parents and educational authorities nationally, critical information regarding the possible different responses that students from diverse demographic backgrounds, may find useful in their daily experience with bullies on an off school premises.

The responses given by students, who on the basis of correlation methodology applied, have developed effective social skills to handle the threat, have serve as a reinforcement to the approach teachers should continue to focus on to help students develop the capacity to have mastery of these situations.

In terms of quality, the study should be considered an excellent one, because it was detailed and comprehensive, and had utilized cutting edge statistical tools to develop arguments and draw conclusions, that other scholars may find difficult to oppose.

The researchers were able to extract data and theories from competent experts and authorities like Hunter&Boyle (2004), Kochender-Ladd (2003), Eschenbeck et al., (2007), and Hoglund (2007) among others, to powerfully develop their arguments and establish the purpose and relevance of the study throughout the time they spent conducting it.

Variables like gender differences, developmental differences, victimizations characteristics, correlation of victims with similar responses, and the monitoring of external and internal symptoms were given in-depth coverage, so that the reading audience could be more fully informed and empowered to handle similar situations in their environments.

With respect to sample size, the conditionality for students to be accepted in the study and answer the questions, the range of options provided, statistical tools deployed, the demographical structure, the security of the website, the mental preparation of the students and parents, the gaining of the approval and the quality of supervisory competence, the researchers excelled immensely, and should be commended for their work.

The study serves to reinforce theories like that of Hoglund (2007), which informs that girls who are internalizing their feelings are more likely to related to relational victimization than physical victimization, and Kochender-Ladd  &Skinner (2002), who both purports that girls who respond aggressively to victimization are at greater risk for maladjustment than boys who responds in the same manner.

Another vital theory discussed in class and based on the work of Fox & Boulton (2005), which reiterate that victimized Middle Schools youths are more likely to utilize aggressive response to bullying in comparison to their High School counterparts, because they overall lacked sufficient social skills for resolving conflicts in non-aggressive ways, was brought to the fore by this study conducted by Waasdorp & Bradshaw (2011).

The findings on the research on bullies in schools will serve to increase awareness of those concerned of the different possible responses that students can embrace in their daily lives, to successfully overcome this growing threat, which is directly related to the social-emotional health and possible early indications of the presence of such problems in the lives of students.

There were strong indications within this research, that the use of intervention programs at the developmental level across genders, will be a critical necessity to ensure students capacity to overcome the threats of victimization by bullies in schools are strengthened, and in the process they be able to minimize the levels of internal and external symptoms they inadvertently developed in their school lives.

Finally, the use of the latent people centered approach by the researchers to identify the discrete classes of children who utilized similar strategies in their response to frequent bullying and peer victimizations, rather than the traditional approach, based on the results achieved to date , should be an integral part of future research in this area of study, as it more than likely will unearth more vital information that will further increase the performance competence of teachers in their resolve to inculcate successful strategies in their student population to overcome this persistent social threat.

Reference

Waasdorph, T.E., & Bradshaw, C.P., (2011).Examining Student Responses to Frequent Bullying: A Latent Class Approach Journal of Educational Psychology Vol.103 No. 2 336-352