Position Paper on Bullying in the Schools
Prevalence of Bullying Behavior
Peer victimization is a significant problem in U.S. schools. In 1999, an estimated 5% of students ages 12 through 18 reported fearing attack or harm at school (U.S. Department of Education
[USDE], 2000). In a recent national study, Nansel, et al. (2001) found that about 30% of 6 t h
-
through 10 t h
-grade students had been involved in bullying incidents with moderate or frequent regularity. Similar prevalence rates can be found in the state of Florida. For example, in a study by Bully Police, USA, they found that of the 2, 701, 022 school age children in Florida, approximately 442, 157 students were involved in bullying.
Defining Bullying
Researchers commonly define peer victimization or bullying as a negative act of aggression (or oppression) which is unprovoked, is deliberately intended to cause harm, is carried out repeatedly over time and involves an actual and/or perceived imbalance of power in which the aggressor or group of aggressors are physically or psychologically more powerful than the victim
(Boulton & Underwood, 1992; Farrington, 1993; Olweus, 1999; Rigby, 1996; Smith &
Thompson, 1991). To clarify further, the USDE (1998) indicates that bullying can take the form of physical abuse (e.g., hitting, punching), verbal abuse (e.g., name-calling, threats), emotional abuse (e.g., ostracizing, humiliating, maliciously gossiping, rating/ranking personal characteristics such as race or sexual orientation), sexual abuse (e.g., sexual assault, sexual harassment), or hazing (imposing hurtful or embarrassing rituals against new students or team members). Recently, cyber-bullying has become another form of victimization. Cyber-bullying can be defined as sending or posting harmful or hurtful messages using the internet or other digital forms of