From the Editors April 30, 2012 Issue

Breaking the cycle of bullies and victims

The Editors

A recent newspaper editorial on the effects of bullying commented on a report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The report found that children who are bullied and who bully are three times more likely to entertain suicidal thoughts by the age of 11. The editorial added that more needs to be done to stop the harm that bullying does to both the victim and the bully. What a wonderful recognition: Help needs to come for both!

We may well ask how we can best support the efforts of educators, parents, community organizations, and children themselves to end this behavior.

There is one thing that anyone can do: pray! Prayer is actually the most significant thing we can contribute, for only through listening for divinely inspired answers can we hope to overcome what appears to be an intractable problem.

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