Parents and Students

Definition of Bullying

What is bullying? At first glance, many people might think this behavior is easy to define. Their first image of bullying might be of a physically intimidating boy beating up a smaller classmate. While that would still be considered bullying today, parents need to know that bullying behavior can be much more complex and varied than the stereotype. For example, harmful bullying can also occur quietly and covertly, or through gossip or the Internet, and can cause significant emotional damage.

The definition of bullying will vary by school and state. Your state may have a legal definition and schools generally have their own unique bullying policy. While there are significant differences between definitions, most include the following traits:

• Behavior that hurts or harms another person physically or emotionally
• An inability for the target to stop the behavior and defend themselves
• An imbalance of power that occurs when the student doing the bullying has more physical, emotional, or social power than the target
• Repetitive behavior; however, bullying can occur in a single incident if that incident is either very severe or arises from a pattern of behavior