Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Often, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms such as hitting, punching (physical bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying); intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending insulting messages by e-mail (cyberbullying).
Students report that most bullying happens at school, but bullying does not stop at the end of the school day. Children and youth are also involved in bullying in out-of-school time programs. Although there is very little research on bullying in these settings, a recent national study of sixth through tenth graders in the U.S. (Nansel et al., 2003) found that
- Nine percent of boys and 5 percent of girls reported that they had been bullied away from school “sometimes” or “weekly” (compared with 16 percent of boys and 11 percent of girls who reported being bullied at school).
- Children who bully and who are bullied (both in school and away from school) are more likely than other children to be involved in fighting and carry a weapon. In fact, 70 percent of boys and 30–40 percent of girls who were involved in bullying outside of school on a weekly basis reported carrying a weapon in the past month.
Source: Department of Health and Human Services