The National Center for Education Statistics released its findings from the school survey on crime and safety: 2021-2022 and reported that bullying occurs at least once a week in 28 percent of middle schools. Cyberbullying, increasingly more common, occurred at least once per week in 37 percent of middle schools, 25 percent of high schools, and 6 percent of elementary schools.
Bullying can happen throughout a lifetime but is most common in early adolescence (10-12 years old). Adolescents experience significant change, vulnerability, and impressionability during this formative developmental period. Previously thought to “diminish over time,” a review of longitudinal studies on bullying and subsequent outcomes revealed that the negative impacts could be experienced years later. From missing school to devastating psychological distress, the consequences of bullying are so detrimental that scholars refer to it as a public health problem.
