School truancy and the disciplinary problems of bullying victims

Abstract

This study describes the truancy and disciplinary problems of high school bullying victims in the USA. Analyses are based on data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002, a nationally representative sample of 10th graders (students aged 14–15) in the USA. Being bullied is found to be positively associated with increased risk of being frequently absent, getting into trouble excessively at school and being subject to formal school actions such as in‐ or out‐of‐school suspensions and disciplinary transfers for high school bullying victims. These findings are presented within the context of the current state of knowledge about the effects of bullying. Their implications for practice and future research are also discussed.

Keywords:

• bullying
• victimization
• truancy
• delinquency

Notes

1. On Tuesday, 20 April 1999, two third‐year students at Columbine High School entered their Colorado public high school with an arsenal of guns and explosives. They killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded dozens of others before killing themselves.