Bullying is the main coexistence problem faced by schoolchildren. It is not an isolated phenomenon, but rather has a manifest presence in a large number of schools. In this sense, there are many initiatives that are carried out by schools for its prevention and detection, collected, in the Spanish case, in institutional documents such as the Coexistence and Equality Plan, or in legal documents such as action protocols. in cases of bullying.
However, the prevalence of this phenomenon does not decrease at the desirable rate and thousands of children are involved daily in these painful dynamics, faced with the impotence of society. Therefore, parents and experts in the area continue to ask themselves: what can be improved to combat it?
One of the keys to tackling the scourge of bullying lies in prevention. In this sense, it would be convenient to start addressing it from the Early Childhood Education stage.
This can be done through the development of group programs that favor coexistence and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, promoting values ​​such as respect, tolerance, equality and solidarity.
Early detection of bullying is another key aspect, since it can determine both the degree of suffering of the minor, extended more or less over time, and the short, medium and long-term consequences of being a victim of bullying.
This is difficult since violence between peers manifests itself underground and far from the presence of adults. In addition, many of the victims do not report what is happening to them, and may present feelings of guilt and shame, coming to believe that they deserve the attacks. Therefore, it would be pertinent to carry out massive and general diagnoses of school bullying at the regional or center level.
In this situation, according to the Action Guide against bullying in Spanish schools, there is a list of indicators that can reveal the presence of a situation of bullying in the minor:
Such is the seriousness of this manifestation of intentional and sustained violence over time, that it has ceased to be an exclusively school problem to become a psychosocial and public health problem that can seriously affect the quality of life of minors, with implications at the educational, social and psychological levels.
The irruption of new technologies in our society and the free and early access to them by minors has precipitated the spread of bullying beyond the physical and temporary walls of schools, slipping through electronic devices , in the homes.
This prolongation of bullying, called cyberbullying, implies an uninterrupted and constant frequency of attacks, and that, on many occasions, occurs comorbidly with bullying. In addition, it is a form of violence that allows the aggressor to remain anonymous and is widely disseminated, since attacks are generally recorded in cyberspace forever.
In this sense, the role of the family is crucial with regard to the prevention and early detection of cyberbullying, since, unlike bullying, cyberbullying situations usually occur while the minor is out of school. Next, a series of measures for families are proposed, which can help prevent and detect cyberbullying in an incipient way:
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
Adoración DÃaz López, JoaquÃn Manuel González Cabrera and Vansessa Caba are lecturers in the Faculty of Education and researchers in the Cyberpsychology Group at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR).
