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Bullying is a pervasive problem in schools throughout the United States and other countries that has been linked to both immediate and long-term detrimental effects for students. Victimization due to bullying is correlated with student absenteeism (Rigby, 1996; Reid, 1989), poorer academic achievement (Nolin et al., 1996), social isolation (Slee & Rigby, 1993), and internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety, and poorer psychosocial adjustment (Callaghan, 1995; Olweus, 1979; Nansel et al., 2001; Sourander et al., 2000). Craig (1998) reported that all forms of bullying — physical, verbal, and social — were predictive of victim anxiety. Chronic bullying or teasing in the learning environment can result in a plethora of maladaptive symptoms for students. Sourander et al. (2000) found that students who were repeatedly victimized in elementary school reported higher levels of internalizing problems at age 16. Likewise, longitudinal research suggests that being a victim of bullying is associated with low self-esteem, school refusal, anxiety, depression, social isolation, and even suicide (Forero, McLellan, Rissel, & Bauman, 1999; Hawker & Boulton, 2000; Muscari, 2002; Olweus, 1993).
According to our 2008 spring survey of
2,416
students in grades 3, 4, and 5 in 16 suburban elementary school in central Virginia, approximately 15% of all elementary school students reported being bullied at least once a week and
2 percent of students reported bullying somone else. Students completed an anonymous survey that included a standard definition of bullying. This definition indicated that bullying involves the use of one's strength or status to intimidate,
injure, or humiliate another person of lesser strength or status, and that bullying could be physical, verbal, or social.
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During the 2007-2008 academic year, less than 2% of elementary school students admitted bullying someone in the past month. In the fall, about 12% reported being bullied in the past month, as compared to 15% in the spring.
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Results indicated that boys and girls are involved in bullying at nearly equal levels. In addition, rates of bullying reported by boys and girls in the spring were generally consistent with reports from the fall. |
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Students were asked whether they had told anyone that they were bullied. In the spring, 27% of students reported that they told someone that they were bullied in the past month. Victims most often told a parent or a friend. Students were less likely to tell a teacher or another adult at school. |
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Students were asked where they have seen bullying in the past month. The most frequently identified locations were outside of the building (such as the playground), on the bus or at the bus stop, and in classrooms. |
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A series of survey items asked students about the kind of teasing and conflict that occurs at school. In the spring, 23% of students reported observing that students are put down for their race and almost half (48%) reported teasing about how they look. |
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Students with aggressive attitudes are at increased risk for bullying and other discipline violations at school. In the spring, 9% agreed with the statement, "If you are afraid to fight, you won't have many friends." Seven percent of students agreed that," Bullying is sometimes fun to do," and " If you fight a lot, everyone will look up to you." It can be helpul to have class discussions about these sorts of attitudes and what is wrong with them, so that students who maintain such beliefs realize that most of their peers do not share their view. |
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Student willingness to seek help is critical to maintaining a safe and supportive school climate. Survey results indicate that almost all elementary school students had positive perceptions of their teachers in the fall and spring of the 2007-2008 academic year. Students should be reminded that it is not "snitching" to seek help for bullying. |
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