Bullying and Harassment in Schools | Center for Violence Prevention

Bullying in Schools

Although bullying is sometimes seen as “a part of growing up” or “kids being kids,” imagine the kid who is picked on every day, whether physically, socially, or through cyber-bullying. Think about Rebecca Sedwick, the 12-year-old who committed suicide in Florida following a year of bullying at the hands of two young girls. To Rebecca, the bullying was so serious and distressing that she took her own life.

Students need school to be a positive climate where they feel safe.

Or consider the 8-year-old boy who writes to Santa Claus about his twin sister bullied over her weight: “Dear Santa … I wanted a (remote control) car and helicopter, but I don’t want that anymore. Kids at school are still picking on my sister and it’s not fair … I prayed that they will stop, and she needs your help.”

Bullying is a prevalent form of youth violence, particularly in school settings. As illustrated in the examples above, it is defined by aggressive behavior (i.e., behavior that is intentional and mean) that occurs repeatedly over time and within the context of a power imbalance. Although both are harmful to youth, there is an important distinction between bullying and aggression — if there is an occasional conflict or fighting between two children of equal strength, size, and social status, this is aggression, but not bullying.

Bullying in schools often occurs in unstructured school settings, such as the playground area during recess.

Most school-aged children are exposed to bullying in some form due to the unequal balance of power and influence that is so common in youth relationships and peer groups. Research shows that bullying and harassment in schools increases in late childhood and peaks in early adolescence, specifically during middle school and typically takes place in unstructured settings such as the cafeteria, hallways, and playground during recess.

Students need school to be a positive climate where they feel safe. This reduces their own stress and potential aggression, allowing them to focus on the learning necessary for them to be successful in their lives.

Fortunately, there are actions that students and school staff can take to prevent bullying and harassment in schools and to create a more positive school climate. The culture of school violence cannot be impacted by only working with bullies and victims alone. It takes consistent and united action by everyone — students, school staff, administrators, and parents. 

Click here to learn more about the power of a positive school climate.

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Types of Bullying

To better understand how positive efforts can be made, it is important to understand the various types of bullying:

• Physical: Related to dominance and is the most prevalent form of aggression and bullying among boys (as compared to relational). Behaviors can include hitting, kicking, and threatening violence.
• Relational: Involves the manipulation of social standing or reputations and is the most prevalent form of aggression and bullying among girls (as compared to physical). Behaviors can include starting rumors and social exclusion. Click here to learn more about relational aggression.
• Cyber: Involves using electronics to harm others. This type of bullying can be especially harmful because the perpetrators are more difficult to identify, it can more quickly and impulsively be spread to larger audiences, and the physical evidence of the bullying cannot be easily erased from cyberspace. Victims of cyber bullying are often also victims of traditional off-line bullying. Click here to learn more about cyberbullying.

Regardless of the type of bullying, there are several key roles that typically participate in the behavior.

• The bully has a power advantage as compared to the victim, whether the bully is physically stronger, more popular, and/or more socially influential.
• The bystanders, or other peers that witness the bullying event, play a particularly important and perhaps underrated role in bullying.

Certain sub-groups of adolescents may be at a higher risk for bullying. Click here to learn more.

Facts and Statistics About Bullying and Harassment in Schools

• Between 21 and 49% of youth adolescents report being bullied in the past year
• 70.6% of youth are bystanders to bullying.
• In a 2010 study, 20% of girls and 25% of boys said they were bullied, bullied others, or both in the last month.
• In the same study, 90% of third to fifth grade students said they felt sorry for students who are bullied, but sympathy often does not translate into action.
• A 2009 study estimated that at least 20.8% of youth in the US were physically bullied, 53.6% were verbally bullied, 51.4% were socially bullied, and 13.6% were cyber bullied at least once over a two-month period.
• Victims of cyber bullying often do not report their victimization and are eight times more likely to carry a weapon to school.
• A 2011 study showed that bullying at age 14 predicted violent convictions between ages 15 and 20, self-reported violence at age 15 to 18, low job status at age 18, and drug use at 27 to 32 years of age.

Related CVP Programs

• Preventing Aggression in Schools Everyday (PRAISE)
• Friend to Friend

Recommended Resources

Watch this webinar for teachers and school staff about understanding the issue of bullying and how to prevent it: