Bully, Bullying, Bullied

Dr. Licata co-founded and has been directing TeenCentral.Net since 1998. This website is free, anonymous and very safe for all teens who log on to “work it out.” Licata has seen a concerning rise in bullying incidents and issues reported on TC.N recently, as well as the distress and helplessness it causes victims. In this article, Licata explores the dangers of bullying and the signs of bullying for which parents should watch in their children.

Dr. Licata recently launched ParentCentral.Net to assist parents in dealing with the issues they face and receive advice from Master's or PhD level counselors. The site also provides access to podcasts and relevant information on parenting.

Social standing and fitting in are very important to teenagers. All too often, maintaining that comfortable role in a group can be ruined by bullies. Bullies are typically bigger physically, but they may also be bigger in terms of personality or viciousness. They typically intimidate through physical or sexual means, but they also can be more subtle and use verbal abuse to inflict pain and intimidation on their victims. They target the weaker, shyer, sensitive kids and usually repeat their hurtful behaviors over time with one goal: to increase their own stature at the cost of destroying the victim’s self-esteem.

Clearly, bullying is far more than simple teasing; it is an aggressive, destructive and very dangerous behavior that also includes harassment and can ruin someone’s life. The victims of bullying and harassment often do not tell parents or report this behavior because they fear retaliation, feel embarrassed about what is happening or just feel so put down that they see no hope of this situation ending. They also fear retaliation if they try to stand up for themselves and frequently attempt to befriend the bully, just to make the punishment stop. This can often result in feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, depression and even thoughts of suicide ... >>Read More