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In a survey of 558 students in a Midwestern middle school, 80 percent of the students had engaged in bullying behaviors during the previous 30 days. "These findings indicated that the bullying behaviors measured (teasing, name calling, threatening, physical aggression and social ridiculing of peers) are very common," according to psychologist Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-researchers. This survey will appear in the August issue of the Journal of Early Adolescence.

"It looks like bullying is a continuum of behaviors. Rather than labeling a kid a bully, a non-bully or a victim, it seems that many of the students engage in bullying behavior, although most reported low to moderate levels of that behavior," said the researchers.

"By asking students if they had engaged in certain behaviors over the past month without telling them those behaviors were defined as bullying, we found that our results support that adolescents don't neatly fall into categories of either bullies or non-bullies," said the authors.

Interestingly, from other interview-based research conducted at other Midwestern middle schools, noted Dr. Espelage, "kids who bully a lot also say they?ve been victimized too. Nearly 80 to 90 percent of adolescents report some form of victimization from a bully at school."

Researchers Christine S. Asidao, M.A., Shontelle Vion, M.A., and Dr. Espelage also found similar results from a study of 89 middle school students (11-14 year olds) in three mid-sized Midwestern towns. In the study, students defined bullying behavior and their personal experiences of bullying and victimization. The students consistently described bullying as a wide range of behaviors (from verbal teasing to physical aggression). Furthermore, the students who reported bullying others also reported being victimized themselves.

"Students who are physically different (race, body size, clothing) are more likely to be victimized," said the authors. "Many middle school students tease their peers to fit into the crowd, but do feel uncomfortable with their behavior. And we did find that teachers and parents can be a source of support for students who are being bullied."

An effective intervention for bullying, said Dr. Espelage, "would be to change the school climate, since it isn't just a few problem kids that are causing this rise in aggressive behaviors in school. Future research also needs to explore the differences between physical aggression and bullying (teasing, humiliation and rumor spreading) so interventions can be tailored accordingly."

Presentation: "Interviews With Middle School Students: Bullying, Victimization, and Contextual Factors," Christine S. Asidao, M.A., Shontelle Vion, M.A., and Dorothy L. Espelage, Ph.D., University of Illinois

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