Emotional and Physical Abuse

Emotional/Physical Abuse

In 2002, more than 877,700 people ages 10 to 24 were injured from violent acts. Approximately 1 in 13 required hospitalization (CDC 2004). A nationwide survey has been conducted to show that male students (41%) were more likely to have been involved in a physical fight then female students (25%). (NCIPC) Teen violence should be stopped at an early age to prevent further injuries to others physically and emotionally.

Bullying is only one of many different types of teen violence. Bullying is where one person threatens another to get what he/she wants by physically hurting the peer or by putting the peer into fear. Some of the ways that they bully other people are by: calling them names, saying or writing nasty things about them, leaving them out of activities, not talking to them, threatening them, making them feel uncomfortable or scared, taking or damaging their things, hitting or kicking them, or making them do things they don't want to do. There are a lot of reasons why some people bully. They may see it as a way of being popular, or making themselves look tough and in charge. Some bullies do it to get attention or things, or to make other people afraid of them. Others might be jealous of the person they are bullying. They may be being bullied themselves. Some bullies may not even understand how wrong their behavior is and how it makes the person being bullied feel. Some people are bullied for no particular reason, but sometimes it's because they are different in some way - perhaps it's the color of their skin, the way they talk, their size or their name. Sometimes young people are bullied because they look like they won't stand up for themselves. People are not born bullies, being a bully is learned, and they may have been abused at home or just has never learned how to handle situations without violence. Abuse goes hand and hand with teen violence and bullies.

Teenagers get into fights for lots of reasons, some of these reasons are someone insulted someone else or treated them disrespectfully (54 percent). There was an ongoing feud or disagreement (44 percent). Someone was hit, pushed, shoved, or bumped (42 percent). Someone spread rumors or said things about someone else (40 percent). Someone could not control his or her anger (39 percent). Other people were watching or encouraging the fight (34 percent). Someone who likes to fight a lot was involved (26 percent). Someone didn't want to look like a loser (21 percent). There was an argument over a boyfriend or girlfriend (19 percent). Someone wanted to keep a reputation or get a name (17 percent). (NCIPC) Students who fight at school are much less likely than other students to believe that it is effective to apologize or avoid or walk away from

someone who wants to fight. They are also more likely to believe their families would want them to hit back if someone hit them first. Students who have trouble controlling their anger or who are predisposed toward fighting (agreeing with statements such as, "If I am challenged, I am going to fight," or "Avoiding fights is a sign of weakness") are at least 50 percent more likely to get in fights.( NCIPC)

There are a few of different types of abuse. Some of the different types of abuse are physical abuse, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse is hard to set an exact definition on for the different standards that can be set onto this term. Although exact legal definitions vary in the United States from state to state, there are two commonly accepted types of definitional standards that can be used to specify what is meant by physical abuse. The first is the harm standard, which considers behavior as abusive only if it results in demonstrable harm or injuries. Demonstrable harm could mean bruises,