ACQ Vol 12 No 2 2010

the large majority of children who are victims, whereas provocative victims make up between 10% and 20% of the victim group (Olweus, 2001). Passive victims have been shown to be shy, anxious, sensitive, and submissive (Olweus, 1993). In contrast, provocative victims show a combination of anxious and aggressive patterns and may be hot-tempered and retaliate ineffectively (Olweus, 1993). In addition to these intrapersonal characteristics, children’s social status (i.e., their interpersonal relations) can place them at risk of being bullied. Children who have few friends or are rejected by the peer group are easy targets because it is less likely that the peer group will defend them (see Salmivalli & Peets, 2009). Coping strategies The following review focuses on coping strategies used by typical children that have been associated with the escalation or perpetuation of bullying and with the de- escalation or escape from bullying. In general, research has shown that behaviours associated with the escalation or perpetuation of bullying include: (a) aggressive/externalising responses to bullying (e.g., getting angry, losing one’s “cool”, and using verbal or physical counter-aggression), (b) helpless behaviour (e.g., being paralysed with fear or being unable to respond in any way), and (c) internalising (e.g., engaging in self-blame for the bullying) (Kochenderfer-Ladd & Skinner, 2002; Mahady Wilton, Craig, & Pepler, 2000; Salmivalli, Karhunen, & Lagerspetz, 1996). In contrast, instrumental coping (e.g., using constructive actions and problem-solving), and passive coping (e.g., ignoring, acquiescence/compliance, and avoidance) were found to be associated with de-escalation or resolution of observed bullying episodes (Mahady Wilton et al., 2000). However, Mahady Wilton and colleagues noted that passive coping responses may actually perpetuate the cycle of bullying because these strategies may be reinforcing for both the child who bullies and the child who is victimised. That is, the child who bullies achieves the desired personal gain, and the child who is victimised receives temporary relief when the bullying episode ends. Other coping strategies associated with diminished bullying or cessation of bullying include nonchalance, particularly for boys (Salmivalli et al., 1996), and conflict resolution (Kochenderfer-Ladd, 2004). When acting nonchalant, the victim stays calm, acts as if the bullying is not being taken seriously, or acts as if he/she does not care (Salmivalli et al.). Conflict resolution strategies include talking to someone, telling the perpetrator to stop, making a plan for how to get along with the perpetrator in the future, taking some time to cool off, and using ‘I’ messages (Kochenderfer- Ladd). Finally, talking to someone and making more friends was found to be associated with escape from victimisation (Smith, Talamelli, Cowie, Naylor, & Chauhan, 2004). Bullying and children who stutter In regard to children who stutter, Langevin, Bortnick, Hammer, and Wiebe (1998) found that of the 27 children who stutter and were surveyed, 81% reported being teased or bullied about stuttering or about other things. Fifty-nine percent were teased or bullied about their stuttering, and 56% of this group were teased or bullied about their stuttering once a week or more often. Sixty-nine percent of the children were teased about other things, and 50% of this group were teased or bullied about other things once a week or more often. Participants reported that children most frequently called them names, or imitated or made fun of

their stuttering. Davis, Howell, and Cooke (2002) found that children who stutter were less accepted socially, less likely to be perceived as leaders, and more likely to be bullied than non-stuttering children. Taken together, this suggests that children who stutter may be at a greater risk of being bullied than are children who do not stutter. Reported consequences of bullying for children who stutter are consistent with those reported for typical children. In a retrospective study by Hugh-Jones and Smith (1999), adult participants who stutter reported experiencing the following negative effects of being bullied as children: loss of self-confidence and self-esteem, anxiety, shyness, shame, depression, difficulty making and maintaining friendships, truancy, and increased speech problems. A recent cross- sectional study by Blood and Blood (2007) found that boys who stutter and who reported being frequently bullied were more likely to have higher levels of anxiety. Coping strategies and children who stutter Research focusing on the coping strategies used by children who stutter to deal with bullying is limited. An interesting finding by Davis et al. (2002) was that children who stutter tended to project social profiles similar to those projected by their classmates. The authors suggested that these results might indicate that children who stutter seek to avoid standing out and try to be as much like their classmates as possible to avoid being bullied. In a report that included case presentations, Langevin, Kully, and Ross-Harold (2007) described the resolution strategies that helped two children who stutter and who had been teased. For one child, the teasing stopped when his friends stood up for him. For the other child, the problem was resolved when the teacher intervened. Murphy, Yaruss, and Quesal (2007) described a case in which a 9-year-old boy reported that he no longer had concerns about being bullied after he participated in the bullying component of their therapy. This component involved problem-solving activities in which the boy learned effective ways of dealing with bullying in addition to preparing a presentation to make to his class in order to educate his classmates about stuttering. In Turnbull’s (2006) case study, two speech-language pathologists made a presentation about stuttering to the class of a 10-year-old girl who stuttered. In the presentation, the speech-language pathologists talked about stuttering and how to interact positively with children who stutter. After the presentation, the girl who stuttered and her classroom teacher gave positive feedback about the presentation. Current suggestions for interventions for children who stutter and who are victims The common components of current suggestions for helping children who stutter deal with bullying include teaching the child about bullying, discussing possible response strategies, and educating the child’s classmates about stuttering in order to create a more supportive classroom environment (Langevin, 2000; Langevin et al., 2007; Murphy & Quesal, 2002; Murphy et al., 2007; Turnbull, 2006). An important aspect of the works of Langevin, Langevin et al. and Murphy and Quesal is helping the child to differentiate between friendly teasing and teasing in which there is an intention to harm. These researchers also focus on ways to increase the child’s assertiveness and self-esteem. All of the interventions make use of role-playing to help the child who stutters practise and evaluate his or her responses to bullying scenarios and try out new responses.

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ACQ Volume 12, Number 2 2010

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