CLICK HERE for an excellent article: on the long-term effects of bullying.

According to the article, “Multiple researchers point to the protective effect that a good social support network has with regard to a bully victim’s short and long term outcomes. Having supportive family members and peers around who can be confided in when one has been bullied and who can offer support and advice tends to lessen bullying’s impact. There are a number of reasons why it makes sense that a supportive social network should help, but one of them deserves to be made explicit. Namely, that when a bullying victim is surrounded by and brought into a supportive social network, they are receiving many positive messages about their worth from network members, and there are thus fewer opportunities for bullies’ negative messages to find purchase and grow to take over self-esteem.”

A question sometimes asked by critics of FRUIT OF THE VINE is: Why couldn’t Justin just stand up for himself to the bullies? The answer is, many children who are bullied are unable to defend themselves because they lack the confidence to do so. Other factors (physical size, strength, personality, etc) also may keep a child from acting as his/her own advocate in a bullying situation. In Justin and the Werloobee, the idea of bystander intervention is promoted, as is altruism in children and most importantly- friendship.