ABSTRACT
There appears to be no one standard definition of bullying either in the popular or research literature within the US. Generally speaking, it appears that bullying is interpreted as both direct, physical aggression, as well as indirect behavior such as verbal threats. Bullying has generally been referred to as a childhood occurrence and has been depicted in a range of popular literature and media, including children's books, newspapers, and television talk shows. Although the literature and media have focused specifically on the topic of bullying, bullying has not received widespread attention in educational programming in the US or in the scientific literature. There have been limited studies conducted to examine the incidence and prevalence of bullying behavior and/or victimization. Studies have reported estimates ranging from 10 percent of third through sixth graders reporting being chronically bullied by peers, to 29 percent of middle school students reporting engaging in bullying behavior in the past 30 days. In another study of middle and high school students, 75 percent reported being bullied by peers at some point over the course of their schooling. These wide-ranging estimates reflect, in part, the varying definitions, age groups and self-reporting by victims or bully perpetrators. Other research examining characteristics of bullies is encompassed within a broader focus on aggressive behavior, particularly research examining the etiology of proactive bullying aggression. Much of this latter research has been conducted utilizing contrived playgroup methodology. Further, most of the examination to date has focused on direct forms of bullying, with indirect forms of bullying and relational aggression studied less often. Studies have also focused on victimization, including characteristics of victims and the development of chronic victims. A critical next step to be taken is to develop a common definition of bullying and use it to conduct research to provide comparable data on the incidence and prevalence of bullying in the US. Additionally, research is needed to increase our understanding of the familial, school, and other contextual factors that predict either bullying or victimization, as well as those conditions that moderate the effects or reduce the likelihood of bullying occurring. These findings should be utilized in developing prevention and intervention programs that are specific to the issue of bullying.
