 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Stuart Green, MSW, MA, Overlook Family Practice, #L01, 33 Overlook Road, Summit, NJ 07901, 908 522-5283, stuart.green@ahsys.org
Broad attention is finally being paid to the ways in which the social environment and culture is harmful to girls. A related focus of this work is the role of peers violence, bullying being the most common form. When bullying in girls is noted, it is usually presented as either a secondary and developmentally normal aspect of their growth and social relations, or as a natural consequence of the surrounding cultural environment. Alternatively, bullying can be seen as a problem of childhood created by adults, especially those adults responsible for the care of school-age children and the functioning of their social environments and institutions. The leading model for understanding bullying and its prevention is the work of the Norwegian psychologist Dan Olweus. His 'systemic' model states that bullying is a phenomenon which occurs primarily because of adult modeling and affirmation of norms which are accepting of bullying as an expected mode of social expression in children ('boys will be boys', 'girls are mean'). Because bullying is not intrinsic to the nature of children and their social relations, it is therefore preventable by adult initiative and action. This model of bullying will be discussed, as will its implications for effective bullying prevention approaches.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Children, Violence
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.