A survey conducted in 2013 and published in the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey insists that almost 1 in 4 U.S. students (22%) age 12-18 say they have been bullied in school. In 2011 the figure was 28%.
The National Crime Victimization Survey, part of the Justice Department, is an annual data collection conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The School Crime Supplement is sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Department of Education every two years.
The Education Department used the survey’s statistics to point out that the 22% figure is the lowest number since it started compiling bullying statistics in 2005.
24% of girls said they had been bullied; 20% of boys said they had experienced being bullied. Nine% of girls and 5% of boys told the survey that they had been cyberbullied in school or at home; the general mode of cyberbullying included hurtful text messages or hurtful posts on the Internet.
White students were more likely to claim they had been bullied (24%) than blacks (20%), Latinos (19%), or Asians (9%).
The general method of bullying used at schools consisted of being mocked, being called names, or being disparaged. The Education Departments asserted that kids who are bullied have a higher rate of drug abuse, suicide, skipping class, or having trouble with their classwork.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said of the study’s results, “Even though we’ve come a long way over the past few years in educating the public about the health and educational impacts that bullying can have on students, we still have more work to do to ensure the safety of our nation’s children.”