The document summarizes research on the correlation between bullying and low self-esteem. It provides statistics showing that the majority of students are bullied and feel insecure. A survey of 50 students found that nearly all had been bullied or witnessed it, and most believed bullying negatively impacts self-esteem. Throughout the book Twisted, the main character Tyler experiences bullying from others which causes him to feel insecure, and he later becomes a bully himself. The document concludes there is a strong link between bullying and low self-esteem, and greater acceptance of others is needed to address both issues.

1. Bullying as a Correlation to Self- Esteem Issues By: Ashley Gerwitz and Chelsea Brendel

2. Definitions: Bullying- Aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions. Self-Esteem- A realistic respect or favorable impression of ones self.

3. Statistics:77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally, and physically. 62% of all female girls feel insecure. Every seven minutes a child is bullied. A child commits suicide as a direct result of being bullied once every 30 minutes with 19,000 bullied children attempting to commit suicide over the course of one year.

4. StatisticsContinued:1/3 of all girls in the United States think they are overweight and feel insecure due to bullying. Only 56% of 12 and 13 year olds like how they look. Bullying causes major thoughts and even and actions on suicide. 10 to 20 percent of teens experience bullying on a regular basis. Bullying in the middle schools are 24% higher than in elementary and high schools.

5. Survey Results: Out of 50 participants, only one person said they haven’t been bullied. Majority that have answered they have witnessed bullying, also said they have carried on bullying. A common answer to expressing yourself when angry was bottling up their emotions. Bulling has the greatest effect on low self esteem, is what most students thought.

6. Survey Results Continued: Over half of the students chosen for the survey knew that 77% was the national percentage of bullying. Around 90% of the 50 selected knew that 36% of high school students do not feel safe in school. Every participant believes there is a correlation between bullying and low self-esteem. Also, most students had no idea how schools should help the issue of bullying. One answer we found most interesting is, bears should guard the school to help prevent bullying.

7. Relation to Twisted: Throughout the book, Tyler felt insecure about himself due to bullying from Chip and his friends. Tyler’s sister was never able to be her full self because of trying to fit in, in high school. Tyler’s Mother was bullied by her husband and remained mostly quiet during the book, never able to express herself. Tyler’s dad felt insecure about himself and his job, causing him to bully the ones he loves the most. Yoda was bullied several times, causing him to feel like an outcast, along with Tyler.Tyler also became a bully, after being a victim.

8. Reason For Choosing This Topic: We felt this topic was a major effect on the characters in this book. Bullying effected mostly all of the characters, and made them not really who they wanted to be. We also wanted to show the importance of how words truly effect an individual.

9. Conclusion: From our research, studies, and information from the book, we concluded that there is a strong correlation between bullying and self-esteem problems. Bullying will never go away, and people need to learn how to accept other people for who they are, if we ever want self-esteem issues and bullying to disappear. The End! 