Introducing Bullycide The End Result of Bullying

Submitted by Tyler Woods Ph.D. on 2010-05-21 Introducing bullycide. It is a term that is used when a suicide happens from the effects of bullying; and it happens more than you think. In fact, statistics show that that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among those 15 to 25 years of age and the 6th leading cause of death among those 5 to 14 years of age. To top this statistic off, a study published in Child Development magazine indicates that students who are bullied may be at a greater risk for developing antisocial behavior and depression and untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide. Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide in children, according to a new review of studies from 13 countries.“While there is no definitive evidence that bullying makes kids more likely to kill themselves, now that we see there's a likely association, we can act on it and try to prevent it," said review lead author Young-Shin Kim, M.D., assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center. Recent bullying statistics admit that half of all bullying incidents go unreported. Further statistics show that 100,000 students carry a gun to school bullying. More than sixty two percent of American students are bullied because of the way they look and or the way they speak, a U.S. News and World Report has stated. Other sources say that each month more than three hundred thousand children are bullied. Bullying in schools has escalated to the point where it might be considered a pandemic that crosses all national boundaries. There are several types of bullying that you can be on the lookout for in order to help our youth. • Physical – hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or any other form of physical attack. • Verbal – name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist or homophobic jokes. • Indirect – spreading spiteful stories about someone, exclusion from social groups, being made the subject of malicious rumors. • Cyber Bullying - any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium including text, phone calls, email, chatrooms, instant messages, and social networks. Many psychologists agree that to design effective bullying-prevention and intervention programs, they need to understand that a child's tendency toward bullying is influenced by individual, familial and environmental factors. So invite people to pay attention to their prejudgments of other peoples looks, race, religion and handicap people. May is National Mental Health Awareness month. You can help reduce stigma and be more aware events and triggers that are linked to suicide. More and more children are victims of bullycide, and the solution could be to teach tolerance. If you suspect bulling, report it and save a life.