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Bridgewater State UniversityVirtual Commons - Bridgewater State University

MARC Research Reports Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center(MARC)

2011

Research Findings: MARC 2011 Survey Grades3-12Elizabeth K. EnglanderBridgewater State University, [email protected]

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Virtual Commons CitationEnglander, Elizabeth K. (2011). Research Findings: MARC 2011 Survey Grades 3-12. In MARC Research Reports. Paper 2.Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/marc_reports/2

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1

Research Findings: MARC 2011 Survey Grades 3-‐12

Elizabeth Englander, PhD, Director Bridgewater State University

Study: Self-‐report survey of 20,766 children in grades 3-‐12 in Massachusetts (see Appendix ifor Towns Participating) 50.5% were male. 49.5% were female. 7,418 were in Grades 3-‐5. 7,080 were in Grades 6-‐8. 6,268 were in Grades 9-‐12. Table of Contents Interpretations And Reasonable Conclusions From This Data

Findings That Support Early Education On Cyber-‐Bullying And Cyber-‐Issues

Page 3

Findings That Support Increased Use Of Bullying And Cyberbullying Prevention Programs In K-‐12 Schools.

Page 5

Findings On The Frequency Of Bullying And Cyberbullying In Massachusetts.

Page 6

Findings On The Types And Locations Of Bullying And Cyberbullying Experienced By Targets.

Page 9

Findings On The Relationship Between Aggressor/Bully And Target/Victim

Page 12

Findings About Reporting Behaviors In Students. Page 13

2

INTERPRETATIONS AND REASONABLE CONCLUSIONS FROM THIS DATA

• Education on cyberbullying and cyber-‐behaviors needs to begin well before Middle School. Children are all online by third grade and over 20% report experiencing problems with peers online.

• Elementary schools should consider adopting cell phone policies. By fifth

grade, forty percent of children reported having cell phones.

• The Commonwealth should consider mechanisms for parent education. Most children own cell phones with full Internet and text messaging access by Middle School.

• Schools need to ensure that their bullying and cyberbullying prevention

programs are visible to students. Merely the fact of a program’s existence is a way of impressing upon students the gravity of bullying and cyberbullying.

• “Gateway behaviors” – behaviors that convey power and contempt, but do

not generally break school rules (e.g., taunting, eye rolling) – are the most common type of bullying reported across all grades. High rates of gateway behaviors being used against targets in the classroom (i.e., presumably while adults are present) indicate a need for training on responding to these behaviors.

• The locations where bullying is most frequent are those where supervision is

frequently disputed or absent – the playground (in elementary schools), and the hallways (middle and high schools). It is notable that classrooms are also high-‐frequency locations in middle and high schools.

• Preteens and teens do not report being victimized largely by strangers.

Rather, the older the child, the more likely that child is to report that they knew the person who was cyberbullying them.

• Bullying between friends peaks for girls in fifth grade and remains high for

girls in Middle School. It peaks for boys in Middle School and decreases for both genders in high school. This is an area of concern as it impacts the social development of the children involved.

• Children prefer reporting to parents and teachers while in Elementary

School; that preference shifts to Friends and Parents among older children – a normal developmental change. However, teachers and educators are among the last people pre-‐teens and teens prefer to report to, which indicates an area that could benefit from increased attention.

3

FINDINGS THAT SUPPORT EARLY EDUCATION ON CYBER-‐BULLYING AND CYBER-‐ISSUES

Finding # 1. More than 90% of children in Massachusetts are already online by Grade Three, usually playing games.

Finding # 2. By Grade Three, 18-‐20% of children report that they have their

own cell phone. This percentage increases to 25-‐26% by Grade Four and 39% in Grade Five for both genders. Girls are slightly more likely to own cell phones in elementary school.

93%

92% 92%

91%

93%

90%

92%

91%

92%

93%

79%

81%

83%

85%

87%

89%

91%

93%

95%

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Middle School

High School

% of kids who are online Boys Girls

20% 25%

39%

83% 86%

18% 26%

39%

84% 84%


High School

% reporting they have their own cell phone

Boys Girls

4

Finding # 3. In Middle School, 90-‐91% of children report that they can use

their cell phones to text message and go on the Internet.

Finding # 4. In early years, more boys admit to cyberbullying their peers than to bullying their peers. The same general profile is found for girls.

91% 91%

90%

92%

MS HS

Of those who have their own cell phone, what % can use it to text and

go online?

Boys Girls

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

ES MS HS

% of BOYS who admit to bullying or cyberbullying behaviors by grade

level

bully cbully both

5

FINDINGS THAT SUPPORT INCREASED USE OF BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN K-‐12 SCHOOLS.

Finding # 5. Children’s awareness of bullying and cyberbullying prevention

programs in their schools peaks in Grade Five at 79% and 65%, respectively. By High School, only 35% and 13% were aware of bullying or cyberbullying prevention programs going on in their schools.

Finding # 6. For both boys and girls, “pure” in-‐school bullying victimization decreases as children age, but combined in-‐school and online victimization and only-‐online victimization increased as children age. Very similar profiles were found for both boys and girls.

40%

46%

65%

22%

13%

68%

72%

79%

44%

35%

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Middle School High School

% of kids who recall B & CyberB Education in School

remember CyberB education remember Bullying Educ

Bvictim, 8%

Cvictim, 34% Both, 35%

Neither, 23%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

ES MS HS

Victimization online and in school, by grade level (BOYS) (X2=448

(1),p<.000)

6

FINDINGS ON THE FREQUENCY OF BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING IN MASSACHUSETTS.

Finding # 7. The percentage of children who report that they were a target of bullying this year is higher in middle and high school, relative to elementary school. In Elementary school, approximately 35-‐40% of children reported being targets of bullying. In Middle and High School, 50-‐53% of children reported being targets.

Finding # 8. During Grades 3-‐5, 37-‐40% of children reported being victims of bullying. 14%-‐19% reported being victims of cyberbullying, and 7-‐10% reported being victims of both bullying and cyberbullying.

35%

37% 37%

53% 53%

40%

42% 41%

50% 50%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%


% reporting being a bullying target, by grade

Boys Girls

37%

40% 39%

14% 15%

19%

7%

9% 10%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

% reporting being Victim, by type & grade (ELEM)

Bullying

Cyberbullying

Both

7

Finding # 9. In Middle School, 42% of children identified themselves as

being bullies, friends with bullies, or bystanders who watched bullying.

Finding # 10. In High School, 54% of children identified themselves as being bullies, friends with bullies, or bystanders who watched bullying.

Finding # 11. It is far more common to be a victim rather than a perpetrator of bullying – true for both genders and true both online and in school.

Never 46%

Stood by & watched

13%

Friends with the bullies

16%

Yes, I have 25%

Have you bullied someone at school? HS

Never 58%

Stood by &

watched 13%

Friends with the

bullies 12%

Yes, I have 17%

Have you bullied someone at school? MS

Bully, 2%

Bully-‐victim, 6%

Victim, 40%

Neither, 52%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

ES MS HS

Bullies, Victims, and Bully-‐Victims by grade level (GIRLS) (X2=144(1),p<.000)

8

Cbully, 1%

Cbully-‐victim, 11%

Cvictim, 58%

Neither, 30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

ES MS HS

Cyberbullies, Cybervictims, and Cyberbully-‐Victims by grade level (BOYS)

(X2=498(1),p<.000)

9

FINDINGS ON THE TYPES AND LOCATIONS OF BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING EXPERIENCED BY TARGETS.

Finding # 12. In Elementary school, Name Calling was the most common type of bullying reported. For boys, hitting was the second most common type. For girls, exclusion was the second most common type.

Finding # 13. In Middle and High School, taunting and name calling were the most common type of bullying reported. Physical bullying was least common.

50%

41%

14% 12%

53%

25% 27%

13%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Name Calling

Hitting Excluded Threatened

Most common types of bullying (ELEM)

Boys

Girls

24%

36%

44%

63% 63%

29%

46% 49%

66% 66%

15%

25%

35%

45%

55%

65%

75%

Physical Rumors Laughed at Name calling

Taunted

How were you bullied? How were you bullied? MS How were you bullied? HS

10

Finding # 14. Bullying in the classroom increases by grade level.

Finding # 15. Bullying on the bus decreases from Elementary to Middle School. It is higher for boys than for girls.

17%

21%

27%

41% 41%

28%

34% 34%

41%

43%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%


High School

Change in Classroom Bullying Boys Girls

30%

31%

30%

17%

22%

25%

22%

25%

19%

23%

15%

17%

19%

21%

23%

25%

27%

29%

31%

33%


Change in Bullying on the Bus Boys Girls

11

Finding # 16. In Elementary school, the most common location of bullying was on the playground. In Middle and High School, the classroom, hallways, and online were the most common locations.

Finding # 17. As children progress through school, victimization becomes more commonly either online or both online and in school. The percentage of children reporting only in-‐school bullying decreases as children age.

41%

41%

32%

29%

18%

0%

46%

42%

42%

32%

23%

0%

0%

27%

0%

0%

27%

57%

Hallways

Classroom

Off campus, online

Cafeteria

Bus

Playground

Where were you bullied? Locations Elem Locations HS Locations MS

Bvictim, 8%

Cvictim, 29%

Both, 38%

Neither, 25%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

ES MS HS

Victimization online and in school, by grade level (GIRLS) (X2=647(1),p<.000)

12

FINDINGS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AGGRESSOR/BULLY AND TARGET/VICTIM

Finding # 18. The probability of knowing the identity of the cyberbully increases dramatically after elementary school.

Finding # 19. Being bullied by a friend peaked in Fifth Grade for girls and in Middle School for boys. It decreased dramatically during high school. Between third and fifth grades, girls were always more likely to be bullied by a friend, relative to boys.

29% 23% 21%

58%

73%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%


High School

% who knew their cyberbully, by grade

32% 32% 31%

47%

26%

41% 40.0%

49%

43%

25%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%


High School

% of targets reporting that the bully was a friend

Boys

Girls

13

FINDINGS ABOUT REPORTING BEHAVIORS IN STUDENTS.

Finding # 20. During Elementary school, students reported that they were most likely to tell Parents and Teachers about the bullying they experienced.

Finding # 21. During Middle and High School, students reported that they were most likely to tell Friends and Parents about the bullying they experienced. Teachers/Educators dropped to fifth place.

52%

40%

21% 22%

47%

41%

33%

14%

Parents Teacher/Educator Friends NO ONE

Most Common People to Tell (ELEM)

Boys Girls

14

Finding # 22. The higher the grade, the less likely students are to tell their parents if they are being bullied.

Finding # 23. The higher the grade, the less likely students are to tell their teachers if they are being bullied.

Teacher / Educator

Nobody Other trusted adult

Parents Friends

22% 25%

11%

44% 47%

18%

28%

12%

41%

51%

Who did you tell about the bullying ?

Who did you tell about the bullying MS Who did you tell about the bullying HS

55% 54%

48%

44% 43%

51%

48%

39%

43%

39%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%

60%


High School

Change in Telling Parents

Boys Girls

15

Finding # 24. The higher the grade, the more likely students are to tell their

friends if they are being bullied.

46%

34%

40%

21%

18%

40%

45%

39%

22%

18%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%


High School

Change in Telling a Teacher

Boys Girls

17%

22% 23%

49%

51%

26%

30%

42%

45%

52%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

55%


High School

Change in Telling Friends

Boys

Girls

16

i Towns participating in the Survey. This is the first wave of data, gathered between September 2010 and March 2011. More is currently being gathered in the Second Wave. Berlin Mashpee Norfolk Winthrop Lancaster North Attleborough East Longmeadow Hingham Bolton Stow Everett Westford Mendon-‐Upton Gill Montague Regional Quincy

Harwich Carlisle Chelmsford Belchertown Longmeadow Nashoba Bedford Canton Methuen Bolton Foxborough Lee Hyannis Peabody Westford

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