Bullying Y Acoso Es Lo Mismo
Bullying and Harassment: Are They the Same?
Bullying is a pervasive issue in U.S. schools, with more than 16 percent of American school children reporting being bullied during the current term, according to a survey funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, highlights that bullying is not just an unpleasant part of childhood but a public health problem with long-lasting consequences.
Based on the NICHD survey, 10 percent of children admitted to being bullied without bullying others. Meanwhile, 6 percent said they had both been bullied and bullied others. Furthermore, 13 percent of students confessed to bullying other students, while another 29 percent were involved in some aspect of bullying as a perpetrator, target, or both.
Defining Bullying and Harassment
Bullying is defined as a type of behavior intended to harm or disturb the victim, occurring repeatedly over time with an imbalance of power. It can be physical, verbal, or psychological. Physical bullying involves hitting or attacking the other person, while verbal bullying includes name-calling and threats. Psychological bullying entails spreading rumors or excluding a person.
On the other hand, harassment is defined as any form of behavior that demeans, humiliates, or discriminates against an individual because of their race, religion, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation. Unlike bullying, harassment doesn’t always involve a power imbalance but still has long-term negative effects on mental health.
Bullying vs. Harassment: Key Differences
- Bullying usually involves an imbalance of power, while harassment can occur between individuals with equal status or power.
- Bullying often focuses on social relationships and dominance, whereas harassment is based on prejudice, bias, or stereotype.
- While bullying can lead to harassment if the behavior is based on a protected characteristic, it doesn’t automatically imply that bullying is always harassment.
