Study: Cyber bullying on the rise

While school bullying has decreased in recent years, incidents of cyber bullying are on the rise, especially among girls, according to the Metrowest Adolescent Health Survey.

Data analyzed more than 16,000 students in grades 9 to 12 attending 17 metrowest Boston high schools. The surveys, conducted every other year, spanned 2006 to 2012.

Trends were measured by sex, grade and sexual orientation, said lead author Shari Kessel Schneider, Ms.Ph., project director and senior researcher at the Education Development Center in Waltham, Mass.

Among the findings:

• Cyber bullying increased from 15 percent to 21 percent overall; while the hike for girls was 17 percent to 27 percent and boys increased from 12 percent to 15 percent.

• School bullying was 1.7 times higher than cyber bullying (26 percent to 15 percent) back in 2006 but leveled off by 2012 (23 percent to 21 percent).

• School bullying for girls stayed at 26 percent but the rate decreased for boys (25 percent to 18 percent).

• Sexual minorities were more likely to be bullied both ways.

Schneider said that the report was based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

The results did not surprise her because of the known explosion of electronic communication and the “pervasive” use of smart phones by teens.

What did surprise her, however, is that only 33 percent of cyber bullying victims told an adult. More bullied teens spoke to non-school personnel, confiding in a parent or other trusted adult instead of teachers or school counselors (29 percent versus 17 percent).

“I wish we hadn’t found out that only one third of the teens were able to tell adults what was happening,” Schneider said.

She conducted the study to understand the scope of the problem in order to identify at risk youth.

Cyber bullying is rampant, Schneider said, because bullies can do it any time of day at any location using social media and smart phones.

To reduce bullying, she said, parents and schools must emphasize the notion of digital citizenship and responsible use of technology.

“Schools must create a positive climate where nothing is tolerated,” Schneider said.
Parents should set up rules for teen technology use, know passwords and monitor their accounts in a “non-spying” way, she feels.

Most importantly, parents should be on the lookout for signs of distress such as a child’s total preoccupation with checking social media and changes in behavior.

“If teens are withdrawn and upset, it’s important to find out what their online life is like,” Schneider said.

She hopes that increased attention to socio-demographic differences in bullying can promote help seeking and more positive online behavior.

Now that 2014 data has been collected, she plans to do more research on bullying, school climate and sexting.

The report was published in September’s Journal of School Health.