Back to School Can Mean Back to Bullying, Expert Warns

Newswise — STRATFORD – For Dr. Jennifer Caudle, a family physician at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM), the letter from a sixth-grade student – one of hundreds she has received from elementary and middle school students over the past decade – summed up the terrible impact that bullying can have.

“Last year my best friend turned on me all of a sudden,” Allison wrote, and that she was glad she had failed sixth grade because she would “finally get away” from the kids who bullied her.

“To think that a child would intentionally fail in school just to stop being bullied shows the desperation felt by many victims,” Dr. Caudle said. “Too often, that sense of desperation has led children and teenagers to tragic results.”

Over the past decade, more than 50,000 students, parents and educators around the country have attended lectures and workshops where Dr. Caudle helped them find practical solutions that can foster a “bully-proof” school environment.

“Despite heightened awareness, bullying continues to affect more than one-third of students, and bullying extends well beyond pushing, hitting or name-calling at school,” Dr. Caudle said. “Once targeted, a child can continue to be bullied electronically, through social media and cell phones, creating a constant and harrowing experience for the victim.”

Dr. Caudle is the corresponding author of a review article on bullying that is the cover story in the July/August edition of Osteopathic Family Physician. In the article, she and co-author Melissa Runyon, PhD, of the CARES Institute at RowanSOM, note that being bullied is associated with short and long-term psychosocial outcomes, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. Children who bully others are also at a greater risk for complications, such as antisocial personality disorders, delinquent behavior and increased alcohol abuse.

Dr. Caudle urges parents to help prepare their students for the school year by talking to them about bullying and to continue that conversation throughout the school year.

“Ask your children not only if they’ve been bullied but also if they have bullied others,” she advises. “Be compassionate and let your children know that you are there to listen, not to judge, and that they can count on you for support. Remind them, too, that there are two basic rules about bullying – treat everyone with respect and always tell an adult whenever they experience or witness bullying.”

Media interested in speaking with Dr. Caudle should contact Jerry Carey, RowanSOM Media and Public Relations, at (856) 566-6171 or at [email protected].

About Rowan UniversityRowan University is a state-designated public research institution with campuses in Glassboro, Camden and Stratford, N.J., that offers bachelor’s through doctoral programs to 14,000 students. In the past two years, Rowan created a School of Biomedical Sciences; opened the Camden-based Cooper Medical School of Rowan University; and incorporated the School of Osteopathic Medicine, which was a part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, making Rowan only the second university in the nation to grant both M.D. and D.O. medical degrees. Rowan also is slated to collaborate with Rutgers-Camden to create a new College of Health Sciences in Camden, with degree programs related to the growth of medical services needed in the future. Recently designated by the State as only the second comprehensive public research institution in New Jersey, Rowan plans to increase sponsored research to $100 million per year. These new initiatives will add to Rowan’s Rohrer College of Business and colleges of Communication and Creative Arts, Education, Engineering, Graduate and Continuing Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Performing Arts, and Science and Mathematics.