Preliminary Analysis of Bullying Surveys
Northbridge Public Schools
May, 2010
Key findings: Grades 5-8 Number of respondents: 689
· Technology:
o 67% have their own cell phone
o 68% use text messaging
o 28% own cell phone and access the Internet
o 31% have their own computer with Internet access in their bedroom
· Online networks:
o 56% use Facebook
o 16% MySpace
o 4% Twitter
o 5% chat roulette sites
o 13% Skype
o 73% view YouTube
· School feelings:
o 25% just okay
o 5% report sometimes feeling sad and unhappy about school
o 2% report feeling very sad and unhappy
· How many good friends do you have that you trust:
o 2% none
o 17% 1-2
o 26% 3-5
o 55% 5 or more
· Have you ever been bullied in school:
o 68% haven’t been bullied
o 15% bullied just this year
o 10% bullied 1-2 years
o 8% bullied more than 2 years
· Students who did the bullying were:
o 65% haven’t been bullied
o 16% same age
o 8% older
o 7% same gender
o 3% different gender
· If you’ve been bullied, how have you been bullied:
o 66% haven’t been bullied
o 11% physical (hit, kicked, punched, pushed, shoved
o 26% threatened, called names, teased
o 9% kept from participating or ignored in a hurtful way
o 18% spread lies, gossip, or rumors
o 7% cyberbullying
· If cyberbullying, what forms:
o 4% email
o 4% instant messaging
o 7% cell phone texting
o 2% sexting
o 8% Facebook
· Where bullying incidents happened:
o 65% no problems
o 3% at the bus stop
o 10% on the bus
o 17% in the hall
o 15% at lunch
o 8% in the classroom with the teacher not there
o 13% in the classroom with the teacher there
o 3% in the bathroom
o 3% in the locker room
o 3% walking to or from school
o 4% after-school activities
o 7% where I live
o 6% other places in the community
· If you’ve been bullied, have you told anyone:
o 66% not been bullied
o 12% bullied but haven’t told anyone
o 12% told the bully to stop and solved the problem
o 13% told someone else (teacher, parent, counselor) and it stopped
· If you told someone about the bullying, who did you tell:
o 11% teacher
o 10% principal or assistant principal
o 2% nurse
o 8% school counselor
o 20% parents
o 10% brother or sister
o 21% a friend
· If you’ve been bullied and didn’t tell someone, what prevented you from telling:
o 68% haven’t been bullied
o 6% didn’t know who to talk to
o 8% wasn’t sure what to say
o 10% didn’t think it would make a difference
o 8% I was worried about retaliation or that it would make it worse
o 6% I didn’t want anyone else to know what was happening
· Besides telling someone, what else have you done to stop the bullying:
o 64% haven’t been bullied
o 17% told the bully to stop
o 15% walked away from the bully
o 25% ignored the bully
o 9% tried to get even with the bully by doing something back
o 5% stopped going to places where the bully was bothering them
o 1% cut class or avoided going to class
o 2% had parents drive them to school instead of taking the bus
o 2% stayed home from school
· If you’ve told someone about being bullied or has seen you being bullied, have they helped you:
o 66% haven’t been bullied
o 16% person I told helped to stop the problem
o 9% person I told helped to stop the problem for awhile but still happening
o 8% not sure the person did anything to help
o 6% the person didn’t do anything to help
· If you see a friend or another student being bullied, what do you do:
o 41% haven’t seen someone being bullied
o 4% just watched
o 1% joined the bullying
o 41% told the bully to stop
o 16% told an adult at school about the problem
o 13% told a friend
o 11% told someone at home
o 1% didn’t do anything because I thought the bullying was okay
o 6% didn’t do anything but thought I should
· Why do you think students bully other people:
o 70% to show off
o 54% to be popular
o 66% to help them feel good about themselves
o 35% because they feel threatened by someone else
o 24% to get things like money or other people’s property
o 72% to feel powerful
o 71% to get attention
· Why do you think some students get bullied by other people:
o 59% the person is a different color or race
o 68% the person is smaller in size
o 52% the person isn’t a good athlete
o 72% the person is overweight
o 64% the person behaves differently
o 58% the person dresses differently
o 47% the person isn’t smart
o 38% because of the person’s sexual orientation
Almost always / Some of the time / Almost neverHow often do you think teachers know about bullying going on in their classrooms / 15% / 57% / 29%
How often do you think teachers/adults see bullying going on in school / 11% / 59% / 30%
When teachers/adults see bullying in school, how often do they try to stop it / 65% / 27% / 8%
When students are caught bullying, how often do you think they're given consequences / 45% / 42% / 13%
None / Some / Most / All
How many of your teachers talk to students about bullying and why it's wrong / 11% / 39% / 31% / 20%
How many of your teachers talk about what to do if you're being bullied / 16% / 42% / 23% / 19%
How many of your teachers talk to students about what to do if they see someone being bullied / 17% / 37% / 25% / 21%
How many of your teachers have established class rules about bullying / 15% / 28% / 22% / 35%
How many of your teachers talk about school rules against bullying / 10% / 35% / 23% / 31%
If you were being bullied, how many teachers would you feel comfortable going to for help / 21% / 37% / 20% / 21%
· In thinking about your behavior, have you engaged in any of these activities:
o 80% haven’t been a bully
o 11% called someone names, made fun of them, or teased them in a hurtful way
o 7% hit, kicked, pushed, or shoved the person or destroyed property
o 4% left a person out of a game or ignored them in a mean or hurtful way
o 7% spread lies, gossip, or rumors
o 3% cyberbullying
· If you have used cyberbullying, what forms:
o 4% email
o 4% instant messages
o 6% cell phone texting
o 1% sexting
o 6% Facebook
· Why do you think you bullied other students:
o 82% haven’t been a bully
o 4% to show off
o 2% to be popular
o 3% to make me feel good about myself
o 6% because I felt threatened by someone else
o 1% to get things like money or other people’s property
o 3% to feel powerful
o 3% to get attention
o 4% because my friends are doing it
· If you’ve been a bully, why did you bully these particular students:
o 84% haven’t been a bully
o 1% different color or race
o 2% small in size
o 2% weren’t a good athlete
o 2% person was overweight
o 4% person behaved differently
o 2% person dressed differently
o 2% person wasn’t smart
o 1% person’s sexual orientation
· If you’ve been a bully, has anyone talked to you about why it’s wrong and to get you to stop?
o 67% haven’t been a bully
o 17% Yes
o 17% No
· If you’ve been a bully and someone talked to you, what happened:
o 85% haven’t been a bully
o 5% someone at school talked to me
o 3% I was given consequences at school
o 1% school called my parents
o 6% parents talked to me
o 3% given consequences at home
· If someone has talked to you about being a bully, have you stopped:
o 83% haven’t been a bully
o 12% stopped
o 3% stopped being a bully for awhile
o 1% didn’t stop