Study Reveals New Insights into Adolescent Bullying

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - April 16, 2024 - PRLog -- Results of a recently published study provide new insights into adolescent bullying and how to prevent it.

The study involved a national sample of nearly 2000 students between the ages of 11 and 13. Students completed a confidential online survey that included items on student characteristics, bullying and victimization, and hypothesized causes of bullying. Results of the study were published in Youth, an international scientific journal.

Results showed that bullying affects an alarmingly high number of youth. Over 60% of the students surveyed were directly involved in bullying as victims, bullies, or both. And 90% of bullies had been victims themselves. The most common form of bullying was social bullying, followed by physical bullying, and cyberbullying. The results also found a similar set of risk factors across the various forms of bullying.

An important new finding of this study is that self-regulation skills – skills for setting goals, making decisions, and coping with stress and anxiety – were protective for all forms of bullying, including cyberbullying.  This has important implications for prevention, suggesting that a key ingredient for programs designed to prevent bullying should include an emphasis on teaching self-regulation skills. The findings also suggest that preventive interventions that address common risk and protective factors by teaching self-regulation and other life skills hold promise for preventing multiple problem behaviors.

The study was conducted by researchers at National Health Promotion Associates (NHPA) with funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health. The research team at NHPA was led by Dr. Christopher Williams, senior vice president for research and an adjunct associate professor at Purchase College of the State University of New York.

"Our research shows that bullying is a far bigger problem than people realize," said Dr. Williams. "It also shows that the factors promoting different forms of bullying are very similar. But the most important finding is that teaching self-regulation skills may well be the key to more effective prevention programs."

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