April 24, 2001--
One in three students in the sixth to tenth grade are involved in bullying.
And a new study concludes it's a serious problem for America's young people.
The article is in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers say bullying is not just a part of childhood, it's a problem that needs to be addressed by parents and schools.
Tonja Nansel/National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development: "I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT IS UNDERSTANDING HOW WIDESPREAD BULLYING IS AND THAT IT'S A PROBLEM, A SERIOUS PROBLEM, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT PARENTS AND OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR SOCIETY NEEDS TO TAKE ACTION ON."
The study found bullying is a problem for girls and boys, regardless of race or community.
While most cases don't end in violence, Federal authorities say it's a common thread in recent school shootings where the accused reported being picked on by others.
Special Report
We're working on a special report on bullying to show you how bad it is in Utah and what schools are doing about it.
You can see it next week, May 3rd and 4th at 10.
Other Study Findings
A total of 29.9% of the sample reported moderate or frequent
involvement in bullying, as a bully (13.0%), one who was bullied
(10.6%), or both (6.3%).
Males were more likely than females to be
both perpetrators and targets of bullying.
The frequency of bullying
was higher among 6th- through 8th-grade students than among 9th-
and 10th-grade students.
Link To Study
