Children Who Bully

This article and other materials are available online at:
www.StopBullyingNow.hrsa.gov

Bullying among children is aggressive behavior
that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of
power or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time.

Bullying can take many forms such as: hitting or
punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling
(verbal bullying); intimidation through gestures or
social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional
bullying); and sending insulting messages by e-mail
(cyber bullying).

There is no one single cause of bullying among
children. Rather, individual, family, peer, school, and
community factors can place a child or youth at risk
for bullying his or her peers.

Characteristics of Children Who Bully
Children who bully their peers regularly (admit to
bullying more than occasionally) tend to:
• Be impulsive, hot-headed, dominant
• Be easily frustrated
• Lack empathy
• Have difficulty following rules
• View violence in a positive way

Boys who bully tend to be physically stronger than
other children.

Family Risk Factors for Bullying
Children who bully are more likely than their nonbullying
peers to live in homes where there is:
• A lack of warmth and involvement on the part of
parents
• Overly-permissive parenting (including a lack of
limits for children’s behavior)
• A lack of supervision by parents
• Harsh, physical discipline
• A model for bullying behavior

Peer Risk Factors for Bullying
• Children and youth who bully are more likely to
have friends who bully and who have positive
attitudes towards violence.
Common myths about children who bully
“Children who bully are loners”
• In fact, research indicates that children and youth
who bully are not socially isolated.
• They report having and easier time making
friends than children and youth who do not bully.
• Children and youth who bully usually have at
least a small group of friends who support or
encourage their bullying
“Children who bully have low self-esteem”
• In fact, most research indicates that children and
youth who bully have average or above-average
self-esteem.
• Interventions that focus on building the selfesteem
of children who bully probably will be
ineffective in stopping bullying behavior.

Bullying and Other Violent and/or
Antisocial Behaviors
Research shows that bullying can be a sign of other
serious antisocial and/or violent behavior. Children
and youth who frequently bully their peers are
more likely than others to:
• Get into frequent fights
• Be injured in a fight
• Vandalize property
• Steal property
• Drink alcohol
• Smoke
• Be truant from school
• Drop out of school
• Carry a weapon

Research also shows that:
• Children who bully are more likely to report that
they own guns for risky reasons, such as to gain
respect or frighten others.
• Boys who were identified as bullies in middle
school were four times as likely as their nonbullying
peers to have more than one criminal
conviction by age 24.

What do I do if my child is bullying others?
• Make it clear to your child that you take
bullying seriously and that you will not tolerate
this behavior.
• Develop clear and consistent rules within your
family for your children’s behavior. Praise and
reinforce your children for following rules and
use non-physical, non-hostile consequences for
rule violations.
• Spend more time with your child and carefully
supervise and monitor his or her activities. Find
out who your child’s friends are, and how and
where they spend free time.
• Build on your child’s talents by encouraging
him or her to get involved in pro-social activities
(such as clubs, music lessons, non-violent sports).
• Share your concerns with your child’s teacher,
counselor, and/or principal. Work together to
send clear messages to your child that the their
bullying must stop.
• If you and/or your child needs additional help,
talk with a school counselor and/or mental
health professional.

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/bullying/SBN_Tip_1.pdf