School Bullying - Statistics

Statistics

Bullying is a common occurrence in most schools. According to the American Psychological Association, approximately "40% to 80% of school-age children experience bullying at some point during their school careers". Regardless of the grade level, socioeconomic environment, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, bullying can happen to anyone. However, various studies point out that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are more bullied than students from higher socio-economic backgrounds. Most children experience bullying at some point in their academic careers. The following is a list of statistics that illustrate the severity of bullying within classrooms:

• 20–40% of bullying victims actually report being bullied
• 70% of middle school and high school students experience bullying in school
• 7–12% of bullies are habitual and pose a serious threat
• 23% of 9th graders have carried a weapon to school recently
• 5–15% of students are constantly bullied
• 27% of students are bullied because of their refusal to engage in common sexual practices
• 25% of students encourage bullying if not given proper education and support in anti-bullying techniques

This was a survey conducted by the NICHD where a results on what student did in a school. "The children were asked to complete a questionnaire during a class period that asked how often they either bullied other students, or were the target of bullying behavior. A total of 10.6 percent of the children replied that they had 'sometimes' bullied other children, a response category defined as 'moderate' bullying. An additional 8.8 percent said they had bullied others once a week or more, defined as 'frequent' bullying. Similarly, 8.5 percent said they had been targets of moderate bullying, and 8.4 percent said they were bullied frequently. Out of all the students, 13 percent said they had engaged in moderate or frequent bullying of others, while 10.6 percent said they had been bullied either moderately or frequently. Some students-6.3 percent-had both bullied others and been bullied themselves. In all, 29 percent of the students who responded to the survey had been involved in some aspect of bullying, either as a bully, as the target of bullying, or both." According to Tara Kuther, associate professor of psychology at Western Connecticut State University, "...bullying gets so much more sophisticated and subtle in high school. It's more relational. It becomes more difficult for teens to know when to intervene, whereas with younger kids bullying is more physical and therefore more clear cut".

Because of the low numbers of students who actually report incidents of bullying, teachers need to have a certain level of awareness that will thwart any potential problems. This awareness starts with understanding bullying.