The Scope and Impact of Bullying

What is bullying?

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional

and that involves an imbalance of power or

strength. Bullying can take many forms, such as

hitting, kicking, threatening another, teasing, namecalling, excluding from a group, or sending mean

notes or e-mails. Often, children are bullied not just

once or twice but over and over (Olweus, 1993;

Roland, 1989; Smith & Sharp, 1994). 

Verbal bullying is the most common type of

bullying experienced by both boys and girls. Boys

are more likely to be physically bullied by their

peers (Olweus, 1993; Nansel et al., 2001); girls are

more likely to report being targets of rumorspreading and sexual comments (Nansel et al.,

2001). Girls are also more likely than boys to bully

each other using social exclusion (Olweus, 2002).

How common is bullying?

Approximately 30 percent of all children and youth

in grades 6 through 10 have been bullied or have

bullied other children “sometimes” or more often

within a semester, according to research published

in the Journal of the American Medical Association

(Nansel et al., 2001). 

Effects of bullying

Bullying can have serious effects on children who

are bullied. These children are more likely than their

peers to be depressed, lonely, and anxious; have

low self-esteem; feel unwell; have more migraine

headaches; and think about suicide (see Limber,

2002, for summary).

Children who bully

Children who bully tend to have average or 

above average self-esteem. Other characteristics

may include:

• Impulsive, hot-headed personalities;

• Lack of empathy;

• Difficulty conforming to rules; and

• Positive attitudes toward violence

(Olweus, 1993).

Children who bully are more likely than

their peers to

• Get into frequent fights,

• Be injured in a fight,

• Vandalize property,

• Steal property,

• Drink alcohol,

• Smoke,

• Be truant from school,

• Drop out of school, and

• Carry a weapon, (Nansel et al., 2001, 2003;

Olweus, 1993).

Research has also shown that:

• Children who bully are more likely to report that

they own guns for risky reasons, such as to gain

respect or frighten others (Cunningham et al.,

2000); and 

• Boys who were identified as bullies in middle

school were four times as likely as their nonbullying peers to have more than one criminal

conviction by age 24 (Olweus, 1993).
These and other materials are available online at: www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

What works in bullying prevention?

There are many school-based bullying prevention

programs. Although they vary in size and scope, the

most promising programs incorporate the following

characteristics: 

• A focus on creating a school-wide environmen, or

climate that discourages bullying,

• Surveys of students to assess the nature and 

extent of bullying behavior and attitudes 

toward bullying,

• Training to prepare staff to recognize and

respond to bullying,

• Development of consistent rules against bullying,

• Review and enhancement of the school’s

disciplinary code related to bullying behavior,

• Classroom activities to discuss issues related 

to bullying,

• Integration of bullying prevention themes across

the curriculum,

• Individual and group work with children who

have been bullied,

• Individual work with children who have bullied

their peers,

• Involvement of parents in bullying prevention

and intervention activities, and

• Use of teacher or staff groups to increase staff

knowledge and motivation related to bullying.

References

Cunningham, P. B., Henggeler, S. W., Limber, S. P., Melton, G. B., and Nation, M. A. (2000). Patterns and correlates of gun ownership among

nonmetropolitan and rural middle school students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 432-442.

Limber, S. P. (2002). Bullying among children and youth. Proceedings of the Educational Forum on Adolescent Health: Youth Bullying. Chicago:

American Medical Association. Retrieved August 12, 2005, from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/39/youthbullying.pdf

Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M. D., Haynie, D. L., Ruan, W. J., & Scheidt, P. C. (2003). Relationships between bullying and violence among US youth.

Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 157, 348-353.

Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying Behaviors Among US Youth: Prevalence and

Association With Psychosocial Adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at school: what we know and what we can do. NY: Blackwell.

Olweus, D. (2002, August). Bullying among children and youth. Keynote address presented at the National Technical Assistance Meeting, Safe and

Drug-Free Schools Program, U. S. Department of Education, Washington, DC.

Roland, E. (1989). A system oriented strategy against bullying. In E. Roland & E. Munthe (Eds.), Bullying: An international perspective. London:

David Fulton Publishers. 

Smith, P.K., & Sharp, S. (1994). School bullying: Insights and perspectives. London: Routledge.