Tr. Nansel et al., Bullying behaviors among US youth - Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment, J AM MED A, 285(16), 2001, pp. 2094-2100
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
General & Internal Medicine","Medical Research General Topics
Context Although violence among US youth is a current major concern, bullyi
ng is infrequently addressed and no national data on the prevalence of bull
ying are available.
Objectives To measure the prevalence of bullying behaviors among US youth a
nd to determine the association of bullying and being bullied with indicato
rs of psychosocial adjustment, including problem behavior, school adjustmen
t, social/emotional adjustment, and parenting.
Design, Setting, and Participants Analysis of data from a representative sa
mple of 15686 students in grades 6 through 10 in public and private schools
throughout the United States who completed the World Health Organization's
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey during the spring of 1998.
Main Outcome Measure Self-report of involvement in bullying and being bulli
ed by others.
Results A total of 29.9% of the sample reported moderate or frequent involv
ement in bullying, as a bully (13.0%), one who was bullied (10.6%), or both
(6.3%). Males were more likely than females to be both perpetrators and ta
rgets of bullying. The frequency of bullying was higher among 6th- through
8th-grade students than among 9th- and 10th-grade students. Perpetrating an
d experiencing bullying were associated with poorer psychosocial adjustment
(P<.001); however, different patterns of association occurred among bullie
s, those bullied, and those who both bullied others and were bullied themse
lves.
Conclusions The prevalence of bullying among US youth is substantial. Given
the concurrent behavioral and emotional difficulties associated with bully
ing, as well as the potential long-term negative outcomes for these youth,
the issue of bullying merits serious attention, both for future research an
d preventive intervention.