Despite Awareness Campaigns, New Report Reveals That Many Children Are Still Being Bullied

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Even though more and more public figures, including NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, are getting involved in anti-bullying awareness campaigns nationwide, it remains one of the most pressing issues facing the youth of America, according to a new report by researchers from Clemson University and Professional Data Analysts Inc.
“Bullying continues to affect a great number of children in all age groups, with the highest prevalence observed in third and fourth grades, where roughly 22 percent of schoolchildren report that they are bullied two or three times or more per month,” report co-author and Clemson psychology professor Sue Limber said in a statement.
Overall, the report found that 15 percent of students reported being bullied, while six percent said that they had bullied others. The percentage of students who report being bullied decreases steadily with each increasing grade level. While 23 percent of third graders said they were being bullied two to three times a month or more, this decreased to 15 percent by seventh grade and eight percent by twelfth grade, Limber and her colleagues wrote.
Conversely, the percentage of students who report bullying others fluctuated very little across grade levels, fluctuating between five percent and six percent from third through twelfth grade. The research demonstrated that bullying affects students of all ethnic groups, genders, grades, socioeconomic statuses and community types, and can have a serious impact on students which could even last into adulthood, they explained.
The study authors used data from the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire, analyzing a representative sample of over 200,000 questionnaires intended for schools to implement (but had not yet implemented) the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. The sample used in the preparation of the report included 1,000 girls and 1,000 boys from each grade between third and twelfth, and the results were broken down by grade level and gender.
Surprisingly, Limber said that cyberbullying “was one of the least common forms of bullying experienced,” and the study found that a substantial percentage of the victimized students did not confide in anyone about being bullied. Boys were less likely to confide in others than girls, and while over 90 percent of girls and more than 80 percent of boys said that they felt sorry for students who were being bullied, most did not make the effort to help out.
“Many students also lacked confidence in the administrative and teaching staff to address bullying and, by high school, less than one-third of bullied students had reported bullying to adults at school,” Limber explained. “Although half of students in grades three to five believed that school staff often tried to put a stop to it when a student was being bullied, this percentage dropped to just 36 percent by high school.”
“We hope that this report helps teachers, administrators, parents, policymakers and concerned citizens raise national awareness about bullying and improve school environments so every child can feel safe at school,” she added.
[ Watch the Video: Astronaut Scott Kelly Speaks Out Against Bullying ]
Kelly, who is scheduled to take part in a one-year spaceflight mission in 2015, echoed those sentiments in a special video message he recorded Friday as part of Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. In that video, Kelly encouraged both kids and adults to “be more than just a bystander. Take action and do something to stop bullying.”
Kelly, who grew up in New Jersey and is the father of two daughters, said that he “felt compelled to act after hearing about the various cases of bullying around the country last year. I thought of my own daughters, and I recalled my experiences as a child watching other kids bully others without accountability.”
“Bullying affects not only the child adversely but also stunts our growth as a society. It is everyone’s responsibility to stand up against bullying,” he added. His video message will be part of a larger cross-federal agency prevention effort which includes the White House several US cabinet departments, NASA added.
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