Report: Bullying More Than Childhood Ritual
Police Chief: Bullying Not Just 'Boys Being Boys'
POSTED: Thursday, September 4, 2003
WASHINGTON -- A report on bullying finds it can have serious consequences for both victims and the bullies.
The study by the nonprofit group Fight Crime: Invest In Kids found that victims of bullying are five times more likely to suffer from depression and far more likely to be suicidal.
Meanwhile, bullies are much more likely than other kids to carry a weapon to school, and are more likely to grow up to be criminals. Nearly 60 percent of boys who researchers classified as bullies in grades six though nine were convicted of at least one crime by the age of 24.
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, board chairman of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, said bullying is a serious concern of law enforcement. It's not just "boys being boys," Kerlikowske said.
The group, made up of law enforcement officials, prosecutors and victims of violence, said schools haven't done much to prevent bullying. Sanford Newman, the group's president, said effective bullying prevention programs require huge financial investments, but he said the cost is worth preventing future crime.
More than 3 million sixth- through 10th-graders are victims of bullying each year. Another 3.7 million children are bullies, according to the group.
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