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Rates of bullying among students in grades 4-12 decreased over the past 10 years in a state study, contradicting a common perception of a rising trend in schools, according to a study.
The rate of self-reported, frequent bullying victimization fell from 28% in 2005 to 13% in 2014, reported Tracy Evian Waasdorp, PhD, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and her associates. “These findings do contradict the public’s [mis]perception that bullying is increasing.”
Data collected through a survey of 246,306 students in grades 4-12 from 109 schools in Maryland in 2005-2014 found significant decreases in 10 of 13 bullying indicators (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2615).
In the survey, students anonymously reported if they had been a frequent victim of bullying – two or more times within the past month – as defined by the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition: “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons. Bullying often occurs in situations where there is a power or status difference. Bullying includes actions like threatening, teasing, name-calling, ignoring, rumor spreading, sending hurtful emails and text messages, and leaving someone out on purpose.”
The investigators found victimization decreased across indicators including pushing (beta = –0.03), hitting (beta = –0.03), threats (beta = –0.02), cyberbullying (beta = –0.01), and rumors (beta = –0.02), according to the researchers. All values were determined with a P value less than .001.
“It was hypothesized that cyberbullying might increase, but consistent with the other forms of bullying, cyberbullying also decreased,” the researchers wrote. “However, given the rapid change of technology and new social media platforms used by youth and increasingly at younger ages, the nature and quality of cyberbullying may change.”
Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues also had children report if and how often they had participated in bullying or had witnessed bullying, both of which also declined, from 21% to 7% of students and 66% to 43% of students, respectively.
Along with bullying, students were asked how safe they felt in school and if adults in their school were doing enough to prevent bullying, both of which sentiments increased over the course of the study. While 80% of students reported feeling safe in the school, the number of those who felt as though they belonged remained relatively unchanged.
While decreases in each category were relatively small from year to year, “some of these changes were fairly substantial across 10 years, as indicated by the effect size estimates comparing the first and last years (average difference = 0.325),” according to the researchers.
In fact, Dr. Waasdorp and her peers found the final year of the study to have the greatest improvement, which they estimate may come from more comprehensive bullying laws and school practices.
Looking across grade levels, Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues found greater declines in witnessing bullying and school safety in high schoolers than middle schoolers, which they say may indicate more support in middle school systems, where bullying peaks.
Because of the large number of outcomes, significant associations between school levels and bullying indicators were limited. The anonymous nature of the survey limited the ability of the researchers to link student data across years. The investigators also did not collect data on why changes to the bullying indicators occurred.
During the study, the researchers were supported in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the National Institute of Justice. The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.
[email protected]
On Twitter @eaztweets
The Waasdorp et al. study is a comprehensive one using a sophisticated longitudinal design and a number of covariates to give a better comprehension of current bullying trends.
While it is encouraging to hear of the declining trends across many forms of bullying, it is important to remember 48% of children still reported bullying as an issue in their lives, with nearly as many reporting witnessing bullying against others.
We must be watchful for instances of bullying and active in getting rid of it both in and out of the classroom.
This means calling on educators to implement programs that not only sound like they will work, but have been tested and proven to be the best choice for the entire community. Programs that build empathy and encourage students to figure out productive conflict-management solutions often are good choices.
The responsibility to end bullying is not just with educators, but with pediatricians as well. Bullying can have serious mental and physical ramifications for patients, and clinicians must be vigilant for signs of victimization, such as anxiety, depression, or social withdrawal. If it seems as though a patient has been the victim or is the perpetrator of bullying, clinicians may want to talk with the child and their parents about finding a counselor at school where bullying might occur most often, encourage the child to talk with his or her parents about any problems at school, build a stronger communication between parents and the school, and help to support at least one peer friendship, which has been found to be a strong buffer against peer victimization.
This study is a good example of the progress made so far, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
Stephen S. Leff, PhD, is a psychologist in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral sciences and codirector of the Violence Prevention Initiative at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, is director of the department of medical ethics at the hospital. This a summary of their comments from an editorial accompanying the report by Waasdorp et al. (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-0504 ) Neither Dr. Leff nor Dr. Feudtner reported any relevant disclosures.
The Waasdorp et al. study is a comprehensive one using a sophisticated longitudinal design and a number of covariates to give a better comprehension of current bullying trends.
While it is encouraging to hear of the declining trends across many forms of bullying, it is important to remember 48% of children still reported bullying as an issue in their lives, with nearly as many reporting witnessing bullying against others.
We must be watchful for instances of bullying and active in getting rid of it both in and out of the classroom.
This means calling on educators to implement programs that not only sound like they will work, but have been tested and proven to be the best choice for the entire community. Programs that build empathy and encourage students to figure out productive conflict-management solutions often are good choices.
The responsibility to end bullying is not just with educators, but with pediatricians as well. Bullying can have serious mental and physical ramifications for patients, and clinicians must be vigilant for signs of victimization, such as anxiety, depression, or social withdrawal. If it seems as though a patient has been the victim or is the perpetrator of bullying, clinicians may want to talk with the child and their parents about finding a counselor at school where bullying might occur most often, encourage the child to talk with his or her parents about any problems at school, build a stronger communication between parents and the school, and help to support at least one peer friendship, which has been found to be a strong buffer against peer victimization.
This study is a good example of the progress made so far, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
Stephen S. Leff, PhD, is a psychologist in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral sciences and codirector of the Violence Prevention Initiative at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, is director of the department of medical ethics at the hospital. This a summary of their comments from an editorial accompanying the report by Waasdorp et al. (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-0504 ) Neither Dr. Leff nor Dr. Feudtner reported any relevant disclosures.
The Waasdorp et al. study is a comprehensive one using a sophisticated longitudinal design and a number of covariates to give a better comprehension of current bullying trends.
While it is encouraging to hear of the declining trends across many forms of bullying, it is important to remember 48% of children still reported bullying as an issue in their lives, with nearly as many reporting witnessing bullying against others.
We must be watchful for instances of bullying and active in getting rid of it both in and out of the classroom.
This means calling on educators to implement programs that not only sound like they will work, but have been tested and proven to be the best choice for the entire community. Programs that build empathy and encourage students to figure out productive conflict-management solutions often are good choices.
The responsibility to end bullying is not just with educators, but with pediatricians as well. Bullying can have serious mental and physical ramifications for patients, and clinicians must be vigilant for signs of victimization, such as anxiety, depression, or social withdrawal. If it seems as though a patient has been the victim or is the perpetrator of bullying, clinicians may want to talk with the child and their parents about finding a counselor at school where bullying might occur most often, encourage the child to talk with his or her parents about any problems at school, build a stronger communication between parents and the school, and help to support at least one peer friendship, which has been found to be a strong buffer against peer victimization.
This study is a good example of the progress made so far, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
Stephen S. Leff, PhD, is a psychologist in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral sciences and codirector of the Violence Prevention Initiative at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, is director of the department of medical ethics at the hospital. This a summary of their comments from an editorial accompanying the report by Waasdorp et al. (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2017-0504 ) Neither Dr. Leff nor Dr. Feudtner reported any relevant disclosures.
Rates of bullying among students in grades 4-12 decreased over the past 10 years in a state study, contradicting a common perception of a rising trend in schools, according to a study.
The rate of self-reported, frequent bullying victimization fell from 28% in 2005 to 13% in 2014, reported Tracy Evian Waasdorp, PhD, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and her associates. “These findings do contradict the public’s [mis]perception that bullying is increasing.”
Data collected through a survey of 246,306 students in grades 4-12 from 109 schools in Maryland in 2005-2014 found significant decreases in 10 of 13 bullying indicators (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2615).
In the survey, students anonymously reported if they had been a frequent victim of bullying – two or more times within the past month – as defined by the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition: “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons. Bullying often occurs in situations where there is a power or status difference. Bullying includes actions like threatening, teasing, name-calling, ignoring, rumor spreading, sending hurtful emails and text messages, and leaving someone out on purpose.”
The investigators found victimization decreased across indicators including pushing (beta = –0.03), hitting (beta = –0.03), threats (beta = –0.02), cyberbullying (beta = –0.01), and rumors (beta = –0.02), according to the researchers. All values were determined with a P value less than .001.
“It was hypothesized that cyberbullying might increase, but consistent with the other forms of bullying, cyberbullying also decreased,” the researchers wrote. “However, given the rapid change of technology and new social media platforms used by youth and increasingly at younger ages, the nature and quality of cyberbullying may change.”
Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues also had children report if and how often they had participated in bullying or had witnessed bullying, both of which also declined, from 21% to 7% of students and 66% to 43% of students, respectively.
Along with bullying, students were asked how safe they felt in school and if adults in their school were doing enough to prevent bullying, both of which sentiments increased over the course of the study. While 80% of students reported feeling safe in the school, the number of those who felt as though they belonged remained relatively unchanged.
While decreases in each category were relatively small from year to year, “some of these changes were fairly substantial across 10 years, as indicated by the effect size estimates comparing the first and last years (average difference = 0.325),” according to the researchers.
In fact, Dr. Waasdorp and her peers found the final year of the study to have the greatest improvement, which they estimate may come from more comprehensive bullying laws and school practices.
Looking across grade levels, Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues found greater declines in witnessing bullying and school safety in high schoolers than middle schoolers, which they say may indicate more support in middle school systems, where bullying peaks.
Because of the large number of outcomes, significant associations between school levels and bullying indicators were limited. The anonymous nature of the survey limited the ability of the researchers to link student data across years. The investigators also did not collect data on why changes to the bullying indicators occurred.
During the study, the researchers were supported in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the National Institute of Justice. The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.
[email protected]
On Twitter @eaztweets
Rates of bullying among students in grades 4-12 decreased over the past 10 years in a state study, contradicting a common perception of a rising trend in schools, according to a study.
The rate of self-reported, frequent bullying victimization fell from 28% in 2005 to 13% in 2014, reported Tracy Evian Waasdorp, PhD, at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, and her associates. “These findings do contradict the public’s [mis]perception that bullying is increasing.”
Data collected through a survey of 246,306 students in grades 4-12 from 109 schools in Maryland in 2005-2014 found significant decreases in 10 of 13 bullying indicators (Pediatrics. 2017. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2615).
In the survey, students anonymously reported if they had been a frequent victim of bullying – two or more times within the past month – as defined by the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition: “A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons. Bullying often occurs in situations where there is a power or status difference. Bullying includes actions like threatening, teasing, name-calling, ignoring, rumor spreading, sending hurtful emails and text messages, and leaving someone out on purpose.”
The investigators found victimization decreased across indicators including pushing (beta = –0.03), hitting (beta = –0.03), threats (beta = –0.02), cyberbullying (beta = –0.01), and rumors (beta = –0.02), according to the researchers. All values were determined with a P value less than .001.
“It was hypothesized that cyberbullying might increase, but consistent with the other forms of bullying, cyberbullying also decreased,” the researchers wrote. “However, given the rapid change of technology and new social media platforms used by youth and increasingly at younger ages, the nature and quality of cyberbullying may change.”
Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues also had children report if and how often they had participated in bullying or had witnessed bullying, both of which also declined, from 21% to 7% of students and 66% to 43% of students, respectively.
Along with bullying, students were asked how safe they felt in school and if adults in their school were doing enough to prevent bullying, both of which sentiments increased over the course of the study. While 80% of students reported feeling safe in the school, the number of those who felt as though they belonged remained relatively unchanged.
While decreases in each category were relatively small from year to year, “some of these changes were fairly substantial across 10 years, as indicated by the effect size estimates comparing the first and last years (average difference = 0.325),” according to the researchers.
In fact, Dr. Waasdorp and her peers found the final year of the study to have the greatest improvement, which they estimate may come from more comprehensive bullying laws and school practices.
Looking across grade levels, Dr. Waasdorp and her colleagues found greater declines in witnessing bullying and school safety in high schoolers than middle schoolers, which they say may indicate more support in middle school systems, where bullying peaks.
Because of the large number of outcomes, significant associations between school levels and bullying indicators were limited. The anonymous nature of the survey limited the ability of the researchers to link student data across years. The investigators also did not collect data on why changes to the bullying indicators occurred.
During the study, the researchers were supported in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the National Institute of Justice. The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.
[email protected]
On Twitter @eaztweets
FROM PEDIATRICS
Key clinical point:
Major finding: Reports of victimization overall among Maryland students in grades 4-12 decreased from 28% to 13% over a decade, with decreases in 10 of 13 bullying indicators in the study.
Data source: Self-reported survey of 246,306 students in grades 4-12 from 109 Maryland schools in 2005-2014, analyzed using a longitudinal hierarchical linear model.
Disclosures: During the study, researchers were supported in part by grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the National Institute of Justice. The authors reported no relevant financial disclosures.