ACCORDING TO EDUCATION WEEK:

Students who are bullied often do worse in school—they are less engaged, and their learning suffers, according to one study that tracked a group of kindergarteners through 12th grade. And contrary to popular belief, being bullied does not in and of itself make children more resilient.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that around 20 percent of high school students reported being bullied at school in its biennial surveys between 2011 and 2020, dropping to 15 percent in 2021. The percentage of teens reporting that they had been cyberbullied remained mostly flat between 2011 and 2021.

Bullying is a major concern for parents as well educators. A Pew Research Center survey of parents conducted in the fall of 2022 found that nearly three-quarters of parents said they were either very or somewhat concerned about their child being bullied, up from 60 percent in 2015.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics:

The percentage of teenagers with symptoms of anxiety or depression in the past 2 weeks varied by whether or not teenagers were bullied.

  • The percentage of teenagers ages 12–17 with anxiety symptoms in the past 2 weeks was significantly higher among teenagers who were bullied in the past 12 months (29.8%) than those who were not (14.5%).
  • The percentage of teenagers with depression symptoms was significantly higher among teenagers who were bullied (28.5%) than those who were not (12.1%). Bullying victimization occurs when a person is exposed to aggressive behaviors repeatedly over time by one or more people and is unable to defend themself.

Bullying victimization occurs when a person is exposed to aggressive behaviors repeatedly over time by one or more people and is unable to defend themself (1).

Bullying victimization during childhood and adolescence has life-long consequences and is public health issue of national concern (2). Previous research shows being bullied is associated with long-term psychological impact to well-being and poor mental health outcomes (2,3).