Kelby’s strength and optimism comes from her small group of friends and her parents. Although she did not have many friends, at least she had a few people to support her and help her face the bullying with determination. Having a support group helped her by being able to intervene on her behalf, comfort her, or seek help, making future attacks less likely. Peer groups are incredibly important, especially for teens. Having close relationships helps kids like Kelby not feel so alone in what they are dealing with when they are bullied. Especially in adolescence, relationships play a major role in their overall development to prevent mental health issues. According to Hay (2014), “The roots of peer rejection lie in the earliest years of childhood, and peer rejection is associated with educational underachievement, even when many other causal influences are considered. Put another way, having friends in early childhood appears to protect children against the development of psychological problems later in childhood.”
Bullying towards LGBT youth targets their non-conformity to gender norms. They are targeted so often, because they are a …show more content…
I thought about how suicide rates have gone up in the past few years and why that could be. According to Ltd (2017), “In the last 45 years’ suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide.” Friendships are extremely important in the life of a bully victim because a child can cope more easily with the support of friends. Friends can comfort the victim, help them not feel alone, encourage them to stand up for themselves, and help them get through the psychological traumas of being bullied. If more individuals stand up and act to punish the bullies there could be a change in society. I do not think it is realistic to think that bullies will be completely extinct, but I believe that there are ways to easily prevent and prohibit