Bullying is a serious issue in primary schools, secondary schools and wider society alike and psychopathological behavioural problems and other psychological effects are experienced by both the bully and the bully victim. What psychologists aim to achieve is a causal relationship between bullying and behavioural problems so that schemes can be developed to reduce bullying and the possible consequences of the bullying.

            One of the major studies looking at the psychological effects of bullying is the longitudinal 1981 Finnish Birth Cohort Study (Sourander et al, 1981). The study aimed ‘to find an association between bullying at age of 8 years and psychiatric disorders in early childhood’ (Sourander et al, 2007). In, the 2007 ‘From a Boy to a Man’ follow-up study, Sourander et al found that males with a bully status at age 8 had future substance abuse, anxiety and depressive disorders and an antisocial personality, males with a victim status at age 8 had future anxiety disorders and males with a bully-victim status at age 8 had future anxiety disorders and an antisocial personality. Sourander et al (2007) concluded that bullying and victimisation are predictors of psychiatric disorders in males in early adulthood. In terms of causes of bullying behaviour, Sterzer et al (2005) suggested that brain impairments in recognising emotional stimuli and cognitive control of emotional behaviour is the cause of aggressive behaviour in males with conduct disorder (cited in Sourander et al, 2007). Sourander et al’s 2009 follow-up study also looked at females and found that females with a victim status at age 8 has future psychiatric hospital treatment and the use of antidepressant, anxiolytic and antipsychotic drugs.

            Other studies have also shown psychological problems are a consequence rather than a cause of bullying-behaviour. Bond et al (2001) found that 18% of pupils with victim-status in year 8 had symptoms of anxiety or depression and once these pupils had reached year 9, there was a significant correlation between self-reported symptoms of anxiety or depression and victim-status in year 8. The study also found that emotional problems are not a predictor of future victim-status. This further supports the idea that psychological and emotional problems are a consequence rather than a cause of bullying. In addition, Kim et al (2006) found that after 10 months, pupils with victim status had increased risk of social problems, pupils with bully status had increased aggression and pupils with a bully-victim status had increased aggression and externalizing problems. A meta-analysis conducted by Gini & Pozzoli (2008) found that bullies, victims and bully-victims had an increased risk of psychosomatic problems when compared to peers uninvolved in bullying.

            In conclusion, from the evidence analysed bullying appears to be the cause of psychological and behavioural problems rather than the consequence. In terms of causes of bullying behaviour, evidence from Sterzer et al (2005) found that brain impairments cause aggressive behaviour in males with conduct disorder. Consequences of bullying in those with bully status include increased aggression (Kim et al, 2006) and substance abuse (Sourander et al, 2007), consequences of bullying in those with victim status include anxiety and depression symptoms (Bond et al, 2001) and use of antidepressant drugs (Sourander et al, 2009), consequences of bullying in those with bully-victim status include anxiety disorders and an antisocial personality (Sourander et al, 2007).

If you would enjoyed the article and would like to see more of my work then please click here

If you would like to read more about the topic then check out the references below!

References:

Sourander, A., Jensen, P., Ronning, J.A., Niemela, S., Helenius, H., Sillanmaki, L., Kumpulainen, K., Piha, J., Tamminen, T., Moilanen, I., & Almqvist, F. (2007) What Is the Early Adulthood Outcome of Boys Who Bully or Are Bullied in Childhood? The Finnish “From A Boy to a Man” Study. Pediatrics, 120, 397-404.

Sourander, A., Ronning, J., Brunstein-Klomek, A., Gyllenberg, D., Kumpulainen, K., Niemela, S., Helenius, H., Sillanmaki, L., Ristkari, T., Tamminen, T., Moilanen., I., Piha, J., & Almqvist, F. (2009) Childhood  Bullying Behavior and Later Psychiatric Hospital and Psychopharmacologic Treatmnent.  Arch Gen Psychiatry, 66(9), 1005-1012.

Bond, L., Carlin, J.B., Thomas, L., Rubin, K., & Patton, G. (2001) Does bullying cause emotional problems?  A prospective study of young teenagers. BMJ, 323, 480-484.

Kim, Y.S., Leventhal, B.L., Koh, Y.J., Hubbard, A., & Boyce, W.T. (2006) School Bullying and youth Violence: Causes or Consequences of Psychopathological Behavior? Arch Gen Psychiatry, 63, 1035-1041.

Gini, G., & Pozzoli, T. (2008) Association Between Bullying and Psychosomatic Problems: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics, 123, 1059-1065.

Your Actions Affect All Things 

Imagine if you will how much everything you do affects all things on earth.  The very act of looking at someone will set in motion a never ending domino effect of events.  That mere glance into the eyes of someone might make them pause for a second and wonder why you looked at them, change their mood and everyone they come in contact with afterwards will be affected by that mood in one way or another.  Each other person who now comes in contact with that person you looked at will be affected and have an influence on the people they come in contact with and so on.   Multiply this by the nearly 7 billion people who are on this earth and it can become truly mind boggling.   

There are countless stories of people who, due to circumstances, have had their lives changed.  What happened beforehand that made it possible for the two largest lottery winners to be in the exact place at the right time to purchase the winning lottery tickets and split $380 million dollars?   On September 11th, how many people are alive today who worked at the Twin Towers because they were a few minutes late for work for some reason.  A smell triggers a memory and gives someone a million dollar idea.  Smack and kill a mosquito on your arm which may have fed a bat that carries a disease that would have made someone sick thousands of miles away.   All actions, good or bad, affect all things.

An interesting experiment

Try this experiment and purposely alter your future.  The next time you are driving down a busy freeway, slow down to 50 mph and allow the cars alongside of you to pass and get in front of you.  Once all the cars are a few car lengths ahead, adjust your speed back to where you were before you slowed down.  Now watch where you would have been on the roadway before you slowed down.  Perhaps an out of control car switched lanes where you would have been driving had you not slowed down and ran into you?  When you slowed down to try this experiment, was there a chain reaction of cars behind you that had to slow down, most likely yes?  Did you modify your future and all the cars you affected because of your actions?  What changes did you cause because of what ‘did not’ happen?

You can try the same this as you are walking in the Mall or downtown in a crowd of people.  For no apparent reason and without thinking stop right in your tracks, stand still and count to 10, then start walking again. 

First, how many people did you affect by stopping and standing still?  How many people had to slow down, walk around you or change what they were thinking about at the time?  Did you cause the split second it took one of those people who, if they had not slowed down for you, would have been run over by a speeding car.  Perhaps by stopping and standing still you caused someone to re-direct their thoughts which caused them to forget to call a friend thousands of miles away who if that friend would have answered the phone would not have gone outside and gotten bit by a disease bat who did not eat the mosquito you smacked and killed that was on your arm two weeks ago. 

Now start walking again and watch where you would have been 10 steps ahead.  Again, did you alter what would have happened had you not stopped and stood still for 10 seconds and created all new events and circumstances?   Think about it!

A true concept

Because this is a true concept, it can be applied to every aspect of life.  Crime is one category where the actions of the criminal have the potential of altering someone’s very existence and sometimes for generations to come.  The devastation is not in the criminal act itself, but in the cataclysmic events that follow.  Murder someone, and the time continuum for the future is interrupted beyond anyone’s comprehension.  Robb someone with a gun, steal their car or text while you drive and the unimaginable affects it causes will change the very existence of all who are on this planet.  

One kind act

On a more positive note, think about the domino effect of how one kind act would alter the future, an encouraging word to someone who needs a boost or motivation or a helping hand to a friend.  Whose life and how many lives would that one act of kindness change for the better?

We are all connected

Since we are all connected and everything we do affects each other, it means that even if we compete against someone, it will ultimately affect ourselves.  If you win and I lose, then sooner or later my feelings of failure and your feelings of winning will meet each other.  How will each of us be affected?  Who knows?

Can you control the future?

Is it possible to control the future?  If you are a believer of fate and believe that fate cannot be changed then because I have given you the idea of trying the experiment of, “for no apparent reason stop in your tracks and count to 10 and watch where you would have been if you did not stop,” then you will have to admit that it is at least possible to alter your future and your belief in fate will have to change.  Choice, actions and what you do or not do is your fate.

Conclusion

Life is a matter of choices and the result of those choices will affect your future.  You can choose to turn left for no reason at all just to see what happens and who you meet, when you would have never met them, if you did not turn left. 

It is impossible to think about these things or try to make sense of them.  But it can be fun experimenting and playing around with it knowing that if you sneeze… you could very well change the world.

Intentional Mind Power

One such way is making the Law of Attraction work for you the way it has worked for many successful men and women for centuries. By focusing your efforts with Intentional Mind Power you will accomplish things you only dreamed of in the past.

There are those that believe the Law of Attraction is just foolishness that dreamers delude themselves into thinking they can do things with their mind. This is not true. The Law of Attraction is a real phenomenon that anyone can utilize to improve their lives.

Let me explain. Say you need a new car. If you picture in your mind what you want and picture yourself using and enjoying this new car it will be either created or brought within your sphere so you can obtain it.

How I know this is I have done it. My wife had an accident, which totaled her car. Since it was an older car we only had liability coverage and so the insurance didn’t provide a replacement.

Our income was such that we were living pay check to pay check and so there wasn’t any money put aside into a savings account, nor would there likely be anyway for us to save any.

So for months we shared a vehicle. Since we lived close to my work I could take the bus or my wife could drive me to work depending on our schedules. Each month we would try to put aside a little money but at the end of the month there just simply wasn’t anything left.

After about six months of this we decided that we simply had to have another car and so we began to put our mind’s to the task of manifest a way for us to buy one. My wife had said she wanted a Chrysler Sebring convertible. She wanted it to be gold with a tan canvass top.

All of a sudden and I mean within a month we had $1,000 dollars to put down on a car. So we went out car shopping. With cash in hand we went left the bank on Federal Blvd. and went down Federal to where we knew there were several car lot.

The very first one we came to had a 1998 Sebring sitting out next to the street with the top down. We pulled into the lot and started looking over the car. Pretty soon a salesman came out and we got the keys from him to take a test drive.

The car was just what my wife wanted and so we went in to see if we could get the car. Papers were drawn up and a price agreed upon after they had checked our credit, which is terrible. Finding a lender was tough but they finally located a loan source. The payments were higher than we thought we could afford and the total for the car was too much, but it was what my wife wanted so we proceeded.

We signed the papers and took possession of the car that day. One week later we got a call from the car dealer and they said the loan had fallen through, but they had found another company willing to give us a loan. So we had to go back down sign new papers and buy the car under the new terms.

The funny thing is the new terms from the loan company made them lower the price of the car and shorten the term of the loan. The only catch was we needed to come up with another thousand dollars in a month. The payments stayed about the same but for one year less making it more in the price range we first had in mind.

Since we had to stretch our budget just to get the first down payment coming up with another thousand dollars would have normally put us off, but we were determined. Putting our mind’s to work again we came up with the extra $1,000 in two installments.

Because we also have to pay the payment each month our income each month had to increase. This was also provided for us with a new project my wife and her boss came up with and so each month we can now make the payment.

So you can see that this all started with an idea, a thought. This thought then made available the car we needed and wanted and gave us the means to obtain it. If this isn’t mind over matter I don’t know what else it could be.

The cosmological argument is actually derived from the law of cause and effect that states: “every effect must have an adequate cause.” It supposes the very existence of the universe (the effect) requires the existence of a being that created it (the cause). The claim that the universe has a beginning has been confirmed by modern science, having its origin traced back to the “Big Bang”. Certainly the universe did not cause itself to come into existence, for then it would be both cause and effect, which is downright irrational. Nothing that begins to exist does so without a cause. But for something to come into existence there must be something else that already exists, which brought about its existence. In other words, the fact that the universe has a beginning implies that there is a Creator that brought it into existence.

Now, if this Creator exists in time and has a beginning like the universe, then it would have to be created by something else. Nothing comes from nothing, including God. Basic logic would dictate that the ultimate cause of the universe must never have come into existence; the ultimate Creator must be a being that transcends time, a being with neither beginning nor end. He must be both uncreated and eternal. Stephen Charnock, a 17th century Presbyterian clergyman, wrote: “It is impossible for any to give a beginning and being to itself: if it acts it must exists, and so exist before it existed. A thing would exist as a cause before it existed as an effect. He that is not, cannot be the cause that he is, if therefore, God doth exist, and hath not his being from another, he must exist from eternity.”

David Hume, an 18th Scottish philosopher, resisted the cosmological argument by taking the position that no one can absolutely know anything regarding the original cause. Since no one has ever witnessed how worlds were made, no one has any right to assume that the world had a cause. In fact, nothing must ever be assumed. Proof must be demanded. God, the First Cause, must be proven, not assumed.

However, a sensible answer to Hume’s demand for ultimate proof of a First Cause is to take into account the unchanging order of things. The real sequence of all things is this: first the cause, then the effect. This order indicates that there is something in the cause that produces the effect. The effect never precedes or produces the cause. For example, thunder does not precede lightning, and heat does not precede fire. Lightning causes thunder, and fire causes heat. There is an order. Similarly, the Divine creative power caused the universe, and in turn produced the effect, which is its very existence. It should be noted that it is not necessary to study every instance of cause and effect before a valid affirmation is made that, “every effect must have an adequate cause.”

When the Law of Gravity is observed but once, the witness is very much qualified to declare that the Law of Gravity is in action. The conclusion, therefore, is that: “Every effect not only has a cause, but must have one.”

While the cosmological argument does not by itself prove the existence of God, it can be placed as a connection in the chain of evidence. Together, all the connections of logical arguments for the existence of God will become credible, especially when other explanations for the origin of the universe are proposed, such as evolution. Without doubt, evolution cannot explain the universe for no effect can be greater than its cause. For example: a stream cannot rise higher than its source; life cannot arise from non-life; intelligence cannot come from the non-intelligent; and personality cannot be derived from the impersonal.

A process needs a maker of the process. Evolution has no maker and no explanation of the cause of everything. Evolution attributed everything to the impersonal, time, space and chance. The attempt of evolutionary thought to eliminate God is indeed absurd. It will never be able to explain the First Cause nor will any other teachings, without returning to the account of creation in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And “by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

The hyacinth, crocus and daffodils are in bloom in many of the yards as I strolled past them. The leaves are budding on the trees. It was so beautiful and peaceful out there and I couldn’t help praising God for it. What a glorious day it was. Today, at 7:AM it looks like it is going to be pretty much the same and I’m looking forward to getting outside and doing some yard work, maybe even taking a long walk around town. I have a couple errands to do and I can combine the two nicely. Yes, I think I will do that. I so love being out in nature enjoying all its many wonders, its beauty, its peacefulness. It just seems to do both my heart and soul a whole lot of good. I get that “feel good” feeling all over.

When I am feeling frustrated, out of sorts, emotionally, mentally, even physically, I just don’t feel quite up to par I find taking a walk, often for me along the river or through one of our local parks, does me a world of good. In no time it seems I am feeling a whole lot better. I may even find myself singing. Why is it that a simple walk, a little time spent out in nature is able to make so much difference? I think I know the answer. The answer is God. Let me explain what I mean by that.

When I am out there in the middle of nature, God’s creation, I am surrounded by “lawful environment”, an environment functioning according to God’s law, a law abiding atmosphere, everything working according to the way God planned it to work with little or no interference of the human kind. Everything works together for the good of all according to God’s physical and spiritual laws. One of the most awesome things about lawfulness is that it produces peacefulness. Isn’t that amazing? Now if man would only really see that and govern ourselves in the same way, what a joyful world it would be. You think? A peaceful environment comes from living within the law. It is such a simple, basic concept that it completely puzzles me that man as a whole can not see it, or more to the point will not. Natural laws, our spiritual eco-system, the order of creation, God’s way, so simple and yet so complex yet it is all so practical, makes sense.

If man could or more to the point would see this and relate to it, the nations of the Earth would be at peace, there would be no war, our communities would be safe and peaceful, and our families would all be loving and kind. There would be enough for everyone. There would be no jealousy or hate, no fear. No one would be starving. There would be no horrible, incurable diseases. People could sleep at night and no one would have to lock their doors. The answer is God. If we would live according to the principles of God all our problems would go away. It is pretty simple really. All life is controlled by a basic fundamental fact called cause and effect; action and reaction. Example: If I hit you, you will probably hit me back but if you do something kind to me I will probably do something kind to you. Simple as all that good produces good. That is the spiritual law that governs our lives, it is and it will continue to be. If we would all recognize this then it seems logical we would all make better and more right choices. I don’t like getting hurt so the best way to avoid that is to not hurt someone else. Make sense?

As I survey the world of nature around me, leaving out man’s influence, I can see how very practical and perfect God’s spiritual laws work. King David saw it…He expressed it in one, actually more than one, of his psalms but Psalm 119 comes to mind. “Great peace have those who love your law and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Psalm 119:165) God created and defined the laws of life and living from the very beginning and it seems only man chooses to resist that law. It is pretty simple. God created. We are God’s very own, created in His image to exist for all eternity within His laws of life and living. By doing this we will know only peace and happiness. God’s laws are positive and for the good of all, His entire creation, including man. Shucks, God even wrote them down for us. You’ll find them in the Bible. They are called the TEN COMMANDMENTS. They are written in order and with reason and practicality. It all makes sense. These Ten Commandments (laws) show us how to apply God’s spiritual law to our lives. The rest of creation doesn’t seem to have a problem with these laws so why can’t man, why won’t we? They promote the well-being of all creation. What more can we seek? Why do we continue to be so gullible to deception, to the will of Satan and those who follow him? That is what is the basic cause of all our problems…back to the same principle of cause and effect.

If we would simply follow the law as the rest of God’s creation does what a peaceful, happy world it would be. We would be living within a lawful peace for all eternity.

Okay, I’m going to go take my walk now and enjoy some of God’s peace.

• As an excellent reference for a list of superstitions in alphabetic order, see the Unusual Trivia Collection Superstitions: old wives tales, folklore, bizarre beliefs, taboos, omens, lucky & unlucky things found here.
• You’ll find a fairly similar list on the superstitions page of the Urban Legends & Superstitions site.
• For a very extensive list, subdivided into categories, see Superstitions.
• Another list of Common Superstitions can be found here.
• Wikipedia has a pretty good article about superstitions too.
• Now for the self proclaimed largest list of superstitions on the web see, Old Superstitions.
• You’ll find an interesting group of articles on the topic of various superstitions, both ancient and modern, indexed at this Crystalinks Superstition Index Page.
• You can find an interesting article about pigeons in captivity developing superstitious connections in: “Superstition: In The Pigeon by B. F. Skinner. This article reveals that even pigeons demonstrate the kind of magical thinking emblematic of making incorrect cause and effect connections as typified by superstitions. The pigeon test subjects were observed to become convinced that specific body motions were associated with causing a feeding bin to appear, when in reality the bin was set on a clock that presented it at specific timed intervals. Their body motions could be equated to a sort of rain dance, or in their case a food dance. That’s it, now hop three times on your left foot, while patting your right hand on your head, and juniper berries will magically appear. 

Example of Discarding Magical Thinking

Allow me to give an example in which I almost resorted to magical thinking, but rather persisted with experimentation and discovered the real cause and effect.

A few years back, I obtained a wireless door chime system for my home. When it came time to install the unit for the front door, I had two choices. Using adhesive pads, I could attach the unit to the brick wall next to the door, or I could attach it to the metal frame of the storm security door. My first instinct guided me to attach it to the brick wall, but then I noticed the mortar gap, which I thought would waste much of the adhesive surface. There was just enough room to adhere the button unit to the storm door frame. I had tested the unit several times before putting it in place, but after attaching it to the door frame, it didn’t function. I went back into the house and brought the chime unit to the door. Holding the chime just inside the door, I pushed the button. Nothing happened. Then I stepped outside and pushed the button several times, the chime in my hand worked sometimes, but rather intermittently. I was baffled. I then proceeded to remove the button unit from the door frame, thinking it would be my luck that as sure as I removed this thing from the door, it would probably start working again. As predicted, it did.

Had I given up at that point, I probably would have left this unfinished task convinced that I’d been the victim of some particularly perverse poltergeist. But I wasn’t satisfied with that explanation. I continued to examine the situation in order to know more about what was happening. I tested the button and chime further. Holding the button unit against the brick wall where my initial instinct told me to put it in the first place, I found that it worked fine. But when I placed the unit against the metal door frame again, it still failed to function. Then I realized the answer to the puzzle. The metal door frame itself was a barrier to the radio signal going from the button unit to the chime unit. It was really very simple, this metal door frame blocked the button unit’s wireless signal. There were no poltergeists involved in this instance. I came to know that my door chime button unit was best placed, according to my first instinct, regardless of the mortar gap, on the brick wall next to my door.

Cover of Knock on Wood

1. Broken Mirrors

   I have broken mirrors and did not have seven years of bad luck. I’d say the only thing bad about such an event was being without that particular mirror, and having to clean up the broken shards.

2. Salt of the Earth

   I’ve spilled salt, and did not subsequently throw a pinch of it over my shoulder, which would have accomplished nothing more than to make the mess worse.

3. Black Cats lame

   I’ve allowed black cats to cross my path, and suffered no ill affect.

4. Friday the 13th Unmasked

   I have compared the events of a Friday the 13th to other Fridays, and have noted no statistical difference in terms of luck, good or bad.

5. Ladders not bad

   I’ve walked under a ladder and have found my fate none the worse than if I’d walked around it.

6. Watermelon stomach

   I got quite a laugh when I read this one, “A watermelon will grow in your stomach if you swallow a watermelon seed.” Well, I have on more than one occasion inadvertently swallowed watermelon seeds, and low and behold I did not have this particular fate befall me. I guess my stomach is just not fertile ground for watermelon growth.

7. Knock on Wood

   I have boldly spoken of good things in my life, and did not follow up by knocking on wood. There was no measurable difference from those occasions contrasted with the times I did knock on wood.

8. Hand in front of your mouth when sneezing

   The old wives tale goes, “Place a hand in front of your mouth when sneezing. Your soul may escape otherwise.” When in the presence of other, I do most often cover my mouth when I sneeze, but there have been times when I’ve failed to do so, especially when I’m alone. And you know, thus far my soul has yet to escape, on those occasions. I get the feeling it’s unlikely to do so.

9. Astrological Ambiguity

   I’ve even had friends read to me the astrological readings of the day from several different signs without telling me which one was actually suppose to apply to me, and found that typically more than half of them applied regardless of the sign for which they were written. In fact, more often the readings, which allegedly applied to my sign, did not bear any pertinence to me. But don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy reading my Horoscope purely for entertainment purposes. With that said, it remains true that except on rare occasions it just doesn’t seem to apply to me in any viable way. Those rare occasions are well within the statistical average. Of course, those who continue to maintain a belief in astrology would likely say that I’m being a typically “stubborn” Taurus.

10. Stepping on Cracks

    I have even stepped on cracks and will wonders never cease, it did not break my Mother’s back.

11. Cricket in the house

    It didn’t seem to me that having a cricket in the house brought me good luck, for it’s chirping kept me up all night. Based on my experience, I’d say that was more bad than good.

12. Starting a Trip on Friday

    I’ve started plenty of trips on Friday, and did not meet misfortune in spite of what the old wives tale says, “You should never start a trip on Friday or you will meet misfortune.” In fact, I’ve probably started the majority of my vacations on Fridays.

13. New Moon, Bad Luck?

    Now here’s one that totally makes no sense, as if any of them could. “It is bad luck to see the new moon for the first time through glass. Upon seeing the new moon you should turn whatever silver you have in your pockets or handbag, and thus ensure prosperity for a month.” Am I missing something here? You can’t see the new moon! The whole point of a new moon, is that it isn’t visible. So, how could anyone actually see a new moon? Needless to say, I haven’t seen a new moon, nor have I turned my silver in either my pocket or any handbags, and it’s made no difference in my prosperity or lack thereof for a month or any other period of time.

By virtue of the fact that I have done, or in some cases haven’t done these things, and did not befall any misfortune from them, I’ve thus proven that such superstitions are false. Simple observation and even experimentation reveals the truth. What it shows is that there are no cause and effect connections between reality and these types of baseless superstitions.