Two mental health practitioners say that curbing the menace of bullying in society requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders – the government, parents, guardians, caregivers, schools and the general public.
The experts asserted in an interview in Lagos State on Monday.
According to them, bullying is a common and serious issue that significantly affects various settings worldwide, being more prevalent in schools.
They said different factors could contribute to the prevalence of this social problem.
A Consultant Neuro-Psychiatrist, Dr Maymunah Kadiri, said to address bullying and establish a secure learning environment for all students, an integrated approach with the cooperation of parents, educators, government and policymakers was essential.
Kadiri, also the Medical Director of Pinnacle Medical Services, Lagos, said the government was an important instrument in the prevention of bullying in society, particularly in schools.
She said that the government was essential to establishing laws and policies geared toward the prohibition of bullying and undesirable behaviours in schools, thereby, giving the students a secure and encouraging environment.
Kadiri said: “The policies should give specific definitions of bullying, clarify the duties of educational institutions, and set up protocols for reporting and handling cases.
“It is important that these rules require regular reporting of bullying incidences in order to maintain transparency and responsibility.
“This entails putting in place thorough anti-bullying guidelines in educational institutions and offering financings for successful intervention initiatives.”
According to her, bullying is a complex problem in schools that is impacted by social, cultural and psychological factors.
Kadiri decried the prevalence of bullying at schools and homes, as the effects in most cases resulted in negative outcomes.
According to her, schools should play an important role in promoting a healthy, positive environment where difference is accepted and respect is a core value, as they are the major place where bullying frequently happens.
The neuro-psychiatrist added that schools should set clear guidelines for dealing with bullying behaviours and help both victims and offenders.
She explained that schools should have sufficient resources to put anti-bullying programmes in place, train personnel, and offer victims’ and offenders’ support services.”
According to her, efforts that are implemented across the entire school; such as peer mentorship programmes, anti-bullying events, and cooperative learning activities, can help achieve this.
She said: “This can be accomplished by training staff members to recognise and handle bullying situations; providing support services; and encouraging a sense of community belonging among students.
“Counseling and other forms of support should be provided by schools to both the bullied students and their offenders.
“These programmes can assist victims in overcoming the psychological effects of bullying and offer support.”
Kadiri noted that everyone had a role to play in ensuring the behavioural modifications needed to combat the problem of bullying in society.
Also speaking, the President of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria (APN), Prof. Taiwo Obindo said there was a need for a psychotherapy examination of a bully to detect if there were some underlying psychological/mental health conditions.
Obindo, also a Consultant Psychiatrist, said that the diagnosis was important to determine the likely causes of the act.
According to him, some of the perpetrators probably must have had an anti-social personality disorder or some level of trauma when they were growing up.
“Most of the bullies are actually said to be weaklings; if you confront them, they are cowards on their own; they are just deriving support and strength from people around them.
“So, they need psychotherapy diagnosis to know the cause of such (bullying) behaviour because some of them may probably have anti-social personality disorder or some level of trauma while growing up.
“Like in secondary school, one will say – a senior did this to me, I must also do it to the next person; so, they pass it down.
“Some, it is that environment where they grew up – the father bullying the mother, for instance. So, they may have been abused even as a child.
“The implication is that such person may grow up to become a bully and will need to be examined,” Obindo said.
He, therefore, recommended that both the perpetrator and the bullied were to be examined afterwards for the psychological and physical impacts of the act.
NAN
