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Bullying

Question:
How many students are bullied at school?

Response:

In 2019, about 22 percent of students ages 12–18 reported being bullied at school during the school year, which was lower than the percentage reported in 2009 (28 percent).1 Of students ages 12–18, about 15 percent reported being the subject of rumors; 14 percent reported being made fun of, called names, or insulted; 6 percent reported being excluded from activities on purpose; and 5 percent reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on. Additionally, 4 percent of students reported being threatened with harm, and 2 percent each reported that others tried to make them do things they did not want to do and that their property was destroyed by others on purpose.

Students’ reports of being bullied varied based on student characteristics such as sex, race/ethnicity, and grade level. In 2019, a higher percentage of female students than of male students ages 12–18 reported being bullied at school during the school year (25 vs. 19 percent). Differences were observed between male and female students in their reports of several types of bullying. Specifically, a higher percentage of female students than of male students ages 12–18 reported being the subject of rumors (19 vs. 12 percent); being made fun of, called names, or insulted (16 vs. 12 percent); and being excluded from activities on purpose (9 vs. 4 percent). In contrast, a higher percentage of male students than of female students reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (6 vs. 4 percent).

Overall, of students ages 12–18, the percentage of students of Two or more races (37 percent) who reported being bullied was higher than the corresponding percentages for White students (25 percent) and Black students (22 percent), which were in turn higher than the percentage of Asian students (13 percent) who reported being bullied. In addition, higher percentages of students of Two or more races and White students than of Hispanic students (18 percent) reported being bullied at school during the school year.

A comparison of student bullying by grade level shows that the percentages of students who reported being bullied at school during the school year in 2019 were higher for 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-graders (ranging from 27 to 28 percent) than for 9th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders (ranging from 16 to 19 percent). The percentage was also higher for 7th-graders than for 11th-graders (28 vs. 22 percent) and higher for 11th-graders than for 12th-graders (22 vs. 16 percent).

When the prevalence of bullying is examined by school characteristics,2 it can be observed that the percentage of students who reported being bullied at school during the school year was higher for students enrolled in schools in rural areas (28 percent) than for students enrolled in schools in other locales (22 percent each for those enrolled in schools in cities and in towns, and 21 percent for those enrolled in schools in suburban areas). However, there were no measurable differences between public and private school students in the percentage of students who reported being bullied.


Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, by selected student and school characteristics: 2019

The

1 Total includes race categories not separately shown.

2 Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Data for Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native students did not meet reporting standards in 2019; therefore, data for these two groups are not shown.

3 Excludes students with missing information about the school characteristic.

NOTE: "At school" includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to and from school. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.


1The 2019 School Crime Supplement (SCS) survey included a split sample design to compare two versions of an updated questionnaire on bullying. Approximately 60 percent of the sample received version 1, which was consistent with prior years; the remaining 40 percent received version 2, which included changes such as removing the word “bullying.” The 2019 estimates in this indicator are based on the 60 percent of the sample who received version 1 of the questionnaire. Similarly, the 2015 SCS survey also included a split sample design, which was to compare two versions of an updated questionnaire on bullying that would provide data on repetition and power imbalance aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s uniform definition of bullying. Half the sample received version 1, and the other half received version 2. Any 2015 estimates in this indicator are based on the 50 percent of the sample who received version 1 of the questionnaire.

2Analyses by school locale and control of school exclude students with missing information about the school characteristic.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2020 (NCES NCES 2021-092), Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying.

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