FRIDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Children's social goals help
determine how they respond to being bullied and whether their
responses are effective, researchers say.
The new study included 370 second- and third-graders who were
asked how they respond to other students' aggression, how often
they were bullied and about their social goals.
The researchers created three categories of social goals:
wanting to gain social skills and develop strong relationships,
such as learning how to be a good friend; wanting to be seen
positively by others, such as having "cool" friends; and wanting to
minimize a negative image, such as being viewed as a "loser."
Students in the first category likely used thoughtful and
constructive responses to bullying that were meant to help them
deal with or learn from the situation and to manage their emotions.
These children were less likely to become emotionally upset by
bullying.
Children in the second category tended to deny that bullying had
happened or did nothing, rather than trying to solve the problem.
These children were more likely to retaliate against bullies, said
the researchers at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Students in the third category were more likely to ignore
bullies and less likely to retaliate, possibly in an effort to
pacify bullies and deflect attention from themselves.
The children in the second and third categories were less
effective in their responses to bullying than those in the first
group, according to the report published in the current issue of
the journal
Child Development.
"This research highlights the importance of educational efforts to shift children's priorities away from focusing on being 'popular' or 'cool' and toward developing skills and relationships," study leader Karen D. Rudolph, a professor of psychology, said in a news release from the Society for Research in Child Development. "Achieving this goal can promote constructive coping strategies, ultimately reducing bullying and lessening its long-term impact on children's social and mental health."
More information
The Nemours Foundation has more about
bullying.