An explosion of research on bullying has raised our collective awareness of the serious impacts it can have on children. No longer do we accept it as an innocuous rite of passage, just a part of growing up that we grin and bear and grow out of later. But do we grow out of it, or are there lingering effects that last well beyond the school playgrounds and lunchrooms? Is bullying traumatic and, if so, does it last into adult life? Are there life-long consequences or are the effects pretty much shed as people grow? Are some of us more resilient than others? Are there any positive or unexpected outcomes as a result of being bullied (or having been a bully) as a child? In an effort to answer these questions, Bullying Scars describes childhood bullying from the vantage point of those victims, bullies, and bystanders who are now adults; the book discusses how lives have been changed, and explores the range of reactions adults exhibit.The research gathered for this book, through interviews with over 800 people, points out that even adult decision-making is often altered by the victimization they experience as children at the hands of peers, siblings, parents, or educators. Written in an engaging and accessible style that draws heavily from the rich interview data that deLara has collected, this book will be of interest to anyone struggling with the lingering effects of being bullied. Additionally, it is highly relevant to mental health professionals -- counselors, therapists, social workers, clinical psychologists -- working with clients who are dealing with these issues.

"The book describes childhood bullying from the vantage point of those victims, bullies, and bystanders who are now adults ... discusses how lives have been changed, and explores the range of reactions adults exhibit. The research gathered for this book, through interviews with over 800 people, points out that even adult decision-making is often altered by the victimization they experience as children at the hands of peers, siblings, parents, or educators."--From publisher description.

An explosion of research on bullying has raised our collective awareness of the serious impacts it can have on children. No longer do we accept it as an innocuous rite of passage, just a part of growing up that we grin and bear and grow out of later. But do we grow out of it, or are there lingering effects that last well beyond the school playgrounds and lunchrooms? Is bullying traumatic and, if so, does it last into adult life? Are there life-long consequences or are the effects pretty much shed as people grow? Are some of us more resilient than others? Are there any positive or unexpected outcomes as a result of being bullied (or having been a bully) as a child? In an effort to answer these questions, Bullying Scars describes childhood bullying from the vantage point of those victims, bullies, and bystanders who are now adults; the book discusses how lives have been changed, and explores the range of reactions adults exhibit.The research gathered for this book, through interviews with over 800 people, points out that even adult decision-making is often altered by the victimization they experience as children at the hands of peers, siblings, parents, or educators. Written in an engaging and accessible style that draws heavily from the rich interview data that deLara has collected, this book will be of interest to anyone struggling with the lingering effects of being bullied. Additionally, it is highly relevant to mental health professionals -- counselors, therapists, social workers, clinical psychologists -- working with clients who are dealing with these issues.

A severely burned teenager. A guitar. Punk rock. The chords of a rock 'n' roll road trip in a coming-of-age novel that is a must-read story about finding your place in the world . . . even if you carry scars inside and out. In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay—to "help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores"—Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life. The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality. The second defining moment: the day in eighth grade when the handsome, charismatic Johnny rescued him from the bullies and then made the startling suggestion that they start a band together. Harry discovered that playing music transported him out of his nightmare of a world, and he finally had something that compelled people to look beyond his physical appearance. Harry's description of his life in his essay is both humorous and heart-wrenching. He had a steeper road to climb than the average kid, but he ends up learning something about personal power, friendship, first love, and how to fit in the world. While he's looking back at the moments that have shaped his life, most of this story takes place while Harry is in high school and the summer after he graduates.

Krystian Leonard is a sophomore in high school and entered her first pageant at age 14. She wrote Shining Scars as a way to reach out to children healing with visible scars. Krystian developed and created her own non-profit organization Shining S.C.A.R.S. at age 15 as a result of the scars she endured. She spends countless hours volunteering and promoting her organization as well as competing in pageantry. Growing up she experienced first-hand the trials and self-esteem issues associated with visible scars. Healing with visible scars left Krystian feeling damaged and ashamed. She found the strength she needed to overcome her self-image and entered her first beauty pageant at the age of 14. One year later she summoned the courage to compete in the Miss America Scholarship Organization. As part of her application, Krystian was to choose a platform for which she would become an advocate. She wanted to choose a platform she could be passionate about, and thus Shining S.C.A.R.S. was born.

Bullying at school left scars on me. In time, I learned to face the childhood trauma, and so can you. The free fall that began when you were tormented by bullies can end. The memories of bullies at school are no longer yours to handle alone. In "Getting Past Childhood Bullying: How Adults Can Recover From Bullying That Began at School," you will find a four-part program for healing and recovery. Using these strategies, you may be able to make peace with your past and move on. That's what this book is about. Please follow the advice of your licensed mental health professional and members of your support network before embarking on this journey.

Bullying has long been tolerated as a rite of passage among children and adolescents. There is an implication that individuals who are bullied must have "asked for" this type of treatment, or deserved it. Sometimes, even the child who is bullied begins to internalize this idea. For many years, there has been a general acceptance and collective shrug when it comes to a child or adolescent with greater social capital or power pushing around a child perceived as subordinate. But bullying is not developmentally appropriate; it should not be considered a normal part of the typical social grouping that occurs throughout a child's life. Although bullying behavior endures through generations, the milieu is changing. Historically, bulling has occurred at school, the physical setting in which most of childhood is centered and the primary source for peer group formation. In recent years, however, the physical setting is not the only place bullying is occurring. Technology allows for an entirely new type of digital electronic aggression, cyberbullying, which takes place through chat rooms, instant messaging, social media, and other forms of digital electronic communication. Composition of peer groups, shifting demographics, changing societal norms, and modern technology are contextual factors that must be considered to understand and effectively react to bullying in the United States. Youth are embedded in multiple contexts and each of these contexts interacts with individual characteristics of youth in ways that either exacerbate or attenuate the association between these individual characteristics and bullying perpetration or victimization. Recognizing that bullying behavior is a major public health problem that demands the concerted and coordinated time and attention of parents, educators and school administrators, health care providers, policy makers, families, and others concerned with the care of children, this report evaluates the state of the science on biological and psychosocial consequences of peer victimization and the risk and protective factors that either increase or decrease peer victimization behavior and consequences.