No longer considered a “normal” part of growing up, we now know that bullying can lead to negative short- as well as long-term physical and psychological effects, even lethal consequences.
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) August 24, 2016
HealthForumOnline (HFO), a nationally-approved (APA, ASWB, NBCC, NYSED Social Work Board) provider of online continuing education (CE) for psychologists, social workers, counselors, and other allied professionals announces recent updates to its online CE course, School Children that Bully and Bully Victims: Psychological Theory, Assessment and Intervention to their extensive online CE resource library.
The victimization by a bully and the perpetration of bullying is viewed as a major public health risk. Considered the most widespread form of peer aggression in schools (e.g., 1), one recent review found 50.2% of students acknowledged bullying of a verbal type, 38.3% experience cyber bullying, 37.4% relational bullying, and 33.3% bullying of a physical type (2).
There has been a paradigm shift regarding how we view bullying behavior, as well as how we intervene. No longer considered a “normal” part of growing up, we now know that bullying can lead to negative short- as well as long-term physical and psychological effects, even lethal consequences. Some consider school bullying the most significant public health concern facing children and adolescents today, in part, because of the steady rise of cyber bullying – a type of bullying associated with high aggression among its teenage predators and victim suicide, or “bullycide” (e.g., 3).
School bullying is the best single predictor of psychiatric symptoms among pediatric patients (2), with serious consequences reported for the victim, as well as the bully and the bully-victim. Schools, families, and communities are also negatively impacted; with compelling data suggesting bullying is associated with school-based violence and school shooters (4).
This newly updated online CE course assists mental health professionals to identify common forms of school-based bullying as well as assess developmental, causal and environmental risk factors and traits associated with bullies, bully-victims and victims. The short- and long-term sequelae of bullying on victims, as well as on bullies or bully/victims, are discussed. Prevention methods, anti-bullying interventions and other resources for students, parents and school staff are presented. Collectively, this information will enable psychologists, social workers, counselors and other allied health professionals working in this context to better prevent and/or detect bullying in school-age children and pro-actively and professionally intervene (e.g., 5).
Mental health professionals can chose from HFO’s over 20 categories of CE topics related to health psychology and behavioral medicine (i.e., ethics, cancer adaptation, women’s health, cultural diversity, eating disorders, reproduction/sexuality, aging/gerontology, pediatric behavioral medicine, assessment, chemical dependency, chronic/acute illness, clinical intervention, group therapy, infectious disease, long-term care, neuropsychology, pain management, spirituality, LGBT issues) containing more than 105 online CE courses that are fast, convenient and cost-effective. All HFO courses are available online or as downloadable PDFs. Participants print their own CE certificates and can review updates for free even after they have completed the CE activity and generated their CE certificate.
For more information on this course or a complete listing of titles in our online CE resource library, visit HealthForumOnline.com.
1. Maiano, et al., (2016). Prevalence and correlates of bullying perpetration and victimization among school-aged youth with intellectual disabilities: A systematic review. Research on Developmental Disability, 49-50, 181-195.
2. Hatzenbuehler, et al. (2015). Associatioms Between Anti-bullying Policies and Bullying in 25 States. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(10), e152411. doi: 1001/jamapediatrics.2015.2411. Epub 2015 Oct 5.
3. Gofin, R., et al. (2012). Traditional versus internet bullying in junior high school students. Maternal Child Health Journal, 16(8), 1625-1635.
4. Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States (2002). U.S. Secret Service – National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC.
5. Kochanska, G., et al. (2013). Children’s callous-unemotional traits moderate links between their positive relationships with parents at preschool age and externalizing behavior problems at early school age. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(11), 1251-1260.