Three Criminological Theories Of Bullying

Bullying is a widespread problem in our schools and communities and has a negative impact on students’ right to learn in a safe and secure environment without fear. It is a process in which one person repeatedly uses his/her superior strength or influence to mistreat, attack or force another person to do something (Van der Werf, 2014). Bullying or peer victimization is now recognized as a complex and pervasive problem (Beran, 2009). It is an ongoing problem that is not restricted by age, race, gender or class. This behavior generally takes one of four forms, physical such as assault, verbal which involves threats or insults, social which entails exclusion or rumor spreading, and cyber which includes aggressive texts or social network posts

In the low self-control theory, the phenomenon of bullying is similar to many other kinds of social crime and considered bullying as a serious problem in relation to students’ safety in school and a threat to students’ academic achievements (Moon et al., 2008). According to this theory, parenting practices are said to have a significant effect on children’s self-control, which in turn affects deviant and criminal behavior (Moon et al., 2008). According to the differential association theory, bullying behavior is more likely the result of the association of children with delinquent environments. Several studies have examined the relationship between delinquent peer association attitude toward violence and bullying (Moon et al., 2008). In the general strain theory, three types of strain were proposed; strain as the actual or anticipated failure to achieve positively valued goals, strain as the actual or anticipated removal of positively valued stimuli and strain as the actual or anticipated presentation of negatively valued stimuli to individuals. According to this theory individuals experience negative reactions and emotions, especially anger, when they are treated unjustly. Individuals who experience physical/emotional abuse, maltreatment, rejection and/or anger are more likely to

In addition, Mehta et al. (2013) found that when students perceive that bullying and teasing are widespread in their school, they feel less safe and become less engaged in their school experience. As a result, they have less commitment to doing well at school and they are less likely to participate in school activities. Victims report lower school performance and school attachment (Schneider et al., 2012).When bullying and victimization are prominent features of the classroom environment it is evident that children are susceptible to having low academic achievement. According to Ladd et al., children who are regularly ill-treated by their peers experience negative psychological consequences, which can deter their involvement in the classroom and diminish their academic achievement (Espelage et al., 2013). Therefore, bullying and victimization threaten a safe learning environment for children. This compromises their school attendance, school involvement and consequently their academic achievement. Basch (2011) indicated that violence and aggressive behavior have a negative impact on academic achievement by adversely affecting cognition, school connectedness and