Study: 50% of Teens Bullied Someone Last Year

LOS ANGELES Half of all high school students admit they bullied someone in the past year, and 47 percent say they were bullied, teased, or taunted in a way that seriously upset them in the past year, according to a new study by the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

The  study also found that one-third (33 percent) of all high school students say that violence is a big problem at their school, and one in four (24 percent) say they do not feel very safe at school. More than half (52 percent) admit that within the past year they hit a person because they were angry. Ten percent of students say they took a weapon to school at least once in the past 12 months, and 16 percent admit that they have been intoxicated at school. 

Other findings include:

  • 23 percent say they are prejudiced against certain groups
  • 42 percent used racial slurs or insults at least once within the past 12 months
  • 16 percent have been under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol at school at least once in the past 12 months
  • 63 percent say that if they wanted to, they could get drugs

The nonpartisan, nonprofit Josephson Institute of Ethics has conducted a study of the Ethics of American Youth every two years since 1992. The study reports the responses from 43,321 high school students. The margin of error is less than 1 percent.

Read the full report on student ethics and bullying.

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