Bullying others is a way of feeling powerful. Children need a positive way to feel their
personal power.1
● Bullying others is a tool for gaining popularity. Children need a different way to feel
popular. The challenge is to redirect the child’s leadership potential from negative
bullying behaviors to positive leadership skills and opportunities.2
● It takes two. The aggressor-victim relationship can involve a complex dynamic between
two children. Aggressor-victim relationships may form when a potential aggressor finds a
victim who can be successfully dominated because the victim is weaker, has few friends
who will stick up for the him or her , and shows signs of suffering (such as crying).3
● Social aggression is learned behavior. Research documented from early childhood
through mid-adolescence suggests that social aggression or bullying may be more of a
learned behavior than physical aggression.4
● Peer group reputations stay the same. The reputation of a child or adolescent in the
peer group tends to be stable over time (whether a victim or a bully)