Press Release 05-049
Bullying a Common Problem for Middle-School Students

Behavior affects health and academic performance

Harassment at school interferes with learning. Credit and Larger Version

March 31, 2005

According to UCLA researchers, bullying—including verbal harassment and physical aggression such as shoving and kicking—is a common but disruptive fact of life for many sixth graders.  Harassment at school negatively impacts students’ emotional and physical health and can lower their scholastic achievement. 

The conclusions are based on two recently published studies including a long-term project involving over 1,500 Los Angeles middle-school students that was funded in part by the National Science Foundation.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Nicole Mahoney, NSF (703) 292-8070 nmahoney@nsf.gov
Stuart Wolpert, UCLA (310) 206-0511 stuartw@college.ucla.edu

Principal Investigators
Adrienne Nishina, UCLA (310) 794-5086 anishina@ucla.edu

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

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