Fast Facts: Bullying (719)

Bullying

Question:
How many students are bullied at school?

Response:

In 2021–22, about 19 percent of students ages 12–18¹ reported being bullied² during school,³ which was lower than the percentage who reported this in 2010–11 (28 percent).⁴ In 2021–22, among students who were bullied, 22 percent reported that the bullying happened online or by text.

In 2021–22, the most common types of bullying reported by students ages 12–18 were

being the subject of rumors (13 percent); and
being made fun of, called names, or insulted (12 percent).

Other types of bullying were reported by between 1 and 5 percent of students, including

being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (5 percent);
being excluded from activities on purpose (4 percent);
being threatened with harm (3 percent);
having others try to make them do things they did not want to do (3 percent);
having others share their private information, photos, or videos on purpose (3 percent); and
having property destroyed by others on purpose (1 percent).

Students’ reports of being bullied varied based on student and school characteristics.⁵ Specifically, the percentage of students who reported being bullied during school was

higher for female students than for male students (22 vs. 17 percent);
higher for students of Two or more races (30 percent) and White students (22 percent) than for Black students (17 percent) and Hispanic students (16 percent), which were all higher than the percentage for Asian students (9 percent);⁶
higher for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-graders (27, 26, and 25 percent, respectively) than for 9th-, 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-graders (18, 16, 10, and 15 percent, respectively);
higher for students enrolled in schools in rural areas (24 percent) than for students enrolled in schools in cities (19 percent) and suburban areas (17 percent);
higher for students enrolled in schools in towns (23 percent) than for students enrolled in schools in suburban areas; and
higher for public school students than for private school students (20 vs. 15 percent).

¹ Includes only students who reported being enrolled in grades 6 through 12. Excludes students who received any homeschooling education during the school year. In 2021–22, also excludes students who only attended virtual public or private schools.
² In 2018–19 and earlier years, students were identified as having been bullied if they reported that another student had made fun of them, called them names, or insulted them; spread rumors about them; threatened them with harm; tried to make them do something they did not want to do; excluded them from activities on purpose; destroyed their property on purpose; or pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on them. In 2021–22, the definition of being bullied was expanded to include having private information, photos, or videos shared on purpose in a harmful way. In the total for students bullied during school, students who reported more than one type of bullying were counted only once.
³ In 2018–19 and earlier years, students were asked to report their experiences “at school,” which included in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to and from school. In 2021–22, students were asked about things that happen “during school,” which included in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, going to and from school, and using the phone, internet, or social media.
⁴ For general technical notes related to data analysis, data interpretation, rounding, and other considerations, please refer to the Condition of Education Reader’s Guide.
⁵ Analyses by school locale and control of school exclude students with missing information about the school characteristic. In 2021–22, about 9 percent of sampled students were missing school locale data, and 8 percent were missing data on school control.
⁶ In 2021–22, data for American Indian/Alaska Native and Pacific Islander students did not meet reporting standards.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2024). Student Bullying. The Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/a10.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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