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Nearly one in four high school students in a large multistate sample reported experiencing bullying, according to a new study led by Distinguished Professor Luisa N. Borrell with colleagues from the Universities of Álcala and Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. The findings highlight differences across students’ sex, sexual identity, race and ethnicity, and obesity status over time.
Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the study analyzed data from 342,538 students who participated in the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Researchers examined 80 groups defined by combinations of these characteristics to better understand inequities of either in-school bullying or cyberbullying.
On average, female students, sexual minority students, and students classified as having obesity had higher odds of reporting bullying than male and heterosexual students and those classified as not having obesity. Black, Asian, and Hispanic students had lower odds than white students. Some groups experienced higher or lower prevalence of bullying victimization than expected when their characteristics were considered separately, underscoring the importance of examining intersecting identities. However, higher departures from expected patterns were more common in 2017-2019 than in 2021, with white heterosexual girls classified as obese exhibiting the highest departures regardless of survey year.
“Looking at one characteristic at a time can obscure important differences in students’ experiences,” says Borrell. “Our findings inform bullying prevention efforts that reach all students while providing additional support targeting those facing greater risk.”
The authors caution that the unweighted findings cannot be generalized to all high school students in the U.S. They call attention to prevention efforts that serve all students, with support scaled to the needs of groups facing higher risks of bullying victimization.
