Understanding Peer Bullying

June 19, 2012

Bullying is a serious health concern for middle school students. Students who experience peer bullying suffer psychologically, socially, physically, and educationally. In a newly funded project Amy Bellmore is identifying peer group factors that can be targeted to lessen the consequences of daily peer victimization. The study asks two specific questions: 1) do social environments predict sixth-grade students’ coping responses? and 2) how do coping strategies and social environments interact to predict well being in the face of daily peer victimization experiences? Belmore’s work examines 3 urban communities; the goal is to find promising new directions for cost-effective peer victimization interventions that are relevant for helping a broad spectrum of U.S. youth. More about Bellmore's work is available here.