| Lynn Addington
American University
Educational repercussions for victims of bullying and school crime: A longitudinal analysis of the School Crime Supplements
FINAL REPORT
Despite growing attention by researchers and educators to the problems of bullying and school violence, few studies have addressed the educational repercussions of these experiences. The existing research relies on cross-sectional data, which limit the ability of researchers to evaluate the temporal order of bullying, victimization and their negative consequences. This study is able to more clearly establish the effects of school crime and bullying by creating a longitudinal dataset from the 2001 and 2003 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and School Crime Supplements (SCS). As such, it is the first study to exploit the longitudinal design of the NCVS and SCS to address these issues. Understanding the consequences of criminal victimization at school and bullying is essential to help develop effective school interventions.
This study examines the following four research questions: (1) are students who are victimized or bullied at school more likely to report subsequent negative educational outcomes than those who are not victimized or bullied; (2) are students who are victimized or bullied at school less likely to be involved in school than those who are not victimized or bullied; (3) are students who are victimized or bullied at school more likely to report subsequent use of self-protection measures than those who are not victimized or bullied; (4) are students who are victimized or bullied at school more likely to report subsequent fear than those who are not victimized or bullied?
An interesting pattern emerges from the answers to these questions, bullying has more long-term educational effects as compared to victimization. In particular, prior experience with being bullied continues to affect students' educational performance (as measured by self-reported grades) and aspirations (as measured by plans to graduate from college) for at least two years while prior victimization does not affect these measures. One explanation may be the on-going nature of bullying as compared to criminal victimization. In addition, the findings suggest a recency effect of bullying and certain behaviors. In particular, current reports of bullying victimization affects students in terms of avoiding areas in school and being fearful while previous reports of bullying does not. The relationship between bullying and fear may be evidence of a pattern similar to that observed in criminal victimization of adults where fear dissipates fairly quickly. Given that fearful students are more likely to engage in avoidance behaviors, these two relationships with current bullying may be tapping into a comparable reaction to bullying as well as one that dissipates over time.
Understanding these repercussions allows for the tailoring of programs to most effectively use scarce school resources. Current policies directed at bullying concentrate on prevention with only limited responses for victims. While prevention programs are important to minimize the problem of violence and bullying at school, the findings from this study suggest the need for targeted programmatic support for students. Specifically victims of bullying need support to ensure that they do not suffer immediate consequences of fear and avoidance behavior as well as long-term negative effects on educational achievement and aspirations. No program currently addresses these specific repercussions of bullying.
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