Reuters – Lisa Rapaport
“Anti-bullying policies in most U.S. states aim to protect kids against abuse from their peers in school and online, but their effectiveness varies widely depending on where students live, a study suggests. Researchers analyzed survey data on bullying from almost 62,000 students in grades 9 through 12 to see how their experiences varied based on the type of law on the books in their home state. In states where the laws followed at least one U.S. Department of Education (DoE) recommendation for anti-bullying policies, teens were 24 percent less likely to report bullying and 20 percent less likely to report cyber-bullying, the study found. The DoE recommends, for example, that laws include explicit descriptions of prohibited behaviors and spell out clear reporting practices and specific consequences. “Although anti-bullying policies by themselves can’t eradicate bullying, these results suggest that such policies are an important part of a comprehensive strategy for preventing bullying among youth,” said lead study author Mark Hatzenbuehler, a public health researcher at Columbia University in New York.”(more)