EXPERT ADVISORY – February 21, 2025 – R0026
Canadians may be globally known for their politeness, but Brock University experts say bullying is a prominent issue impacting the nation.
“At least 20 per cent of youth in Canada experience bullying,” Ann Farrell, Assistant Professor of Child and Youth Studies, says. “Compared to other economically advanced countries, Canada continues to rank among the countries with the highest rates of bullying.”
As Pink Shirt Day — which promotes kindness and inclusion in the face of bullying — nears on Feb. 26, Farrell is among a group of experts in the Brock Research on Aggression and Victimization Experiences (BRAVE) offering key insights to help address bullying in youth and adults.
Tony Volk, Professor of Child and Youth Studies, says although Pink Shirt Day’s messaging is important, creating lasting change requires more than parents encouraging their kids to wear a coloured shirt once a year.
Often treated as a “harmless rite of passage,” bullying can inflict mental and physical scars that last for decades, he says.
Instead, he urges people to think of mental health like the bones of the body.
“Some stress is good for strengthening bones. Too much, and you break a bone, leaving it permanently weakened,” he says. “We need to stop treating bullying like it’s some kind of beneficial vaccine that makes children stronger.”
Volk says adults also need to realize that teens are always watching, taking cues on how to behave.
“Longitudinal data has shown that when teens see people they view as important — such as parents, politicians or celebrities — bullying others, rates of teens bullying goes up too,” he says.
“Instead of just telling teens they need to stop bullying and stick up for each other, we need to make sure that we are also getting that message through to adults. “
Farrell says childhood bullying often leads to school absenteeism and poorer educational outcomes, as well as mental health difficulties in adulthood, including depression, anxiety and somatization — the physical expression of stress and emotions.
Societal norms and cultures can contribute to the high rates of bullying in Canada, she says.
“A culture of competition and coercion can contribute to bullying, whereas a culture of kindness, inclusion and co-operation can reduce bullying,” Farrell says.
Creating change begins with encouraging kindness in everyday life, says Child and Youth Studies Postdoctoral Fellow Natalie Spadafora (BA/BEd ’13, MA ’15, PhD ’21), whose recent research shows rude behaviour spiked in Ontario classrooms following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Civility may seem like a simple concept, she says, but it plays a large role in the everyday functioning of society.
“Using manners, opening a door for someone and giving someone your full attention while they are talking to you are small things, but cumulatively, we know that these small acts make a difference in our day-to-day lives and relationships with those around us,” Spadafora says.
“Unfortunately, a look around our current society shows incivility all around us.”
The BRAVE team’s previous research on adolescents has shown that higher levels of incivility can be associated with higher levels of bullying.
“In fact, engaging in uncivil behaviour in the classroom has been shown to predict bullying across time in adolescence,” Spadafora says. “This finding highlights the need to prevent and reduce lower-level antisocial behaviour such as incivility, in an effort to also reduce bullying behaviour across development.”
Naomi Andrews, Associate Professor of Child and Youth Studies, says there can also be a “lot of overlap” between teasing that is fun and playful and that which is hurtful and feels like bullying.
That hurtful teasing can sometimes happen between friends, she says, and may not be intended to be mean or to cause harm.
“Teasing where someone feels singled out or targeted seems to be particularly painful, with young adults in our research quite vividly remembering their pain even years later,” Andrews says.
Hurtful teasing or other types of aggression from friends can be particularly damaging, she says, because it comes from a person who is supposed to be kind and supportive.
So, how can parents tell the difference?
Playful teasing is usually reciprocated, Andrews says, with those involved teasing each other back and forth.
“There is positive emotion clearly shown through laughing or smiling, and those involved are paying attention to the verbal and non-verbal cues of the other person, stopping if it looks like they’re getting hurt,” Andrews says. “If someone doesn’t feel comfortable asking for the teasing to stop, or they do ask and it keeps going, that can be a marker of playful teasing that is crossing the line.”
Child and Youth Studies Professor Tony Volk, Associate Professor Naomi Andrews, Assistant Professor Ann Farrell and Postdoctoral Fellow Natalie Spadafora are available for media interviews on this topic.
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
*Maryanne St. Denis, Manager, Content and Communications, Brock University, [email protected] or 905-246-0256
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