This study investigates bullying in U.S. schools. Bullying is when a stronger party has the intention to harm another and is a recurring act of abuse that can be emotional, physical, or verbal. Cyberbullying is the use of technology to repeat aggressive behavior through cell phones and the Internet. Existing literature suggests that bullying can negatively impact an individual's self-esteem, leading to stress or depression, and academic performance (e.g., GPA and standardized test scores), school participation, and drop out. The data used in this study come from the National Crime Victimization Survey(NCVS): School Crime Supplement (SCS), 2019. The sample is nationally representative of U.S. students aged 12 to 18, including students from both public and private schools. The majority of the sample attended public schools. Students from elementary school, middle school, and high school made up the majority of the sample. Preliminary findings show that the most commonly seen bullying behaviors include making fun of others and spreading rumors about others, and the less common bullying behavior is destroying others’ property. The locations where students got bullied most often were classrooms and the hallway, followed by the cafeteria and outside on the school ground, with similar numbers of students being cyberbullied. In addition, preliminary findings indicate that bullying, including traditional bullying and cyberbullying, has a negative impact on students' academics, social relationships, feelings about themselves, and physical health.

Author: Weiyao Yan

Published in: World Congress on Education, 2022

• Date of Conference: 21-23 June, 2022
• DOI: 10.20533/WCE.2022.0009
• Electronic ISBN: 978-1-913572-50-1
• Conference Location: Virtual (Mississauga, Canada)