Study Finds Girls Bullying More in Schools
Posted on October 13, 2005
A WebMD article says the bullying is on the rise at schools especially among girls. The article cites a National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center study that found 30% of kids are involved with bullying in some way -- either as the bully or as the victim. The study included both physical abuse and bullying through teasing, harassment and digital technology.
The researchers cited other studies that showed that at age 11, 25% of boys and 14% of girls report bullying others. And at least 22% of boys and 26% of girls report being bullied.The Internet also offers an awful new form of bullying called cyberbullying where teens use blogs, email, social networks and instant messaging software to bully other children."While bullying once was seen as an activity of boys, there has been a burgeoning increase in the number of girls who bully," Wright says. "Girls now threaten, use innuendos, and tease others about their clothes as ways to interact together. They are joining in. Many are bullying through the format of 'cyber bullying' through emails, instant and text messaging, and camera phones."
Styles of bullying range from the direct of pushing, punching, spitting, and tripping to the more indirect of threats of teasing, spreading rumors, and shunning, he says.
Bullying is associated with higher rates of frequent fighting and injuries and weapon carrying, with the associations being stronger for bullies than targets, he told those attending the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition.
