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• v.23(2); Feb-Apr 2015

The causes of bullying: results from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE)

Wanderlei abadio de oliveira.

1 Doctoral student, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Marta Angélica Iossi Silva

2 PhD, Associate Professor, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Flávia Carvalho Malta de Mello

Denise lopes porto.

3 MSc, Statistician, Coordenação Geral de Informações e Análise Epidemiológica, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brasília, DF, Brazil

Andréa Cristina Mariano Yoshinaga

4 Master´s student, Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

Deborah Carvalho Malta

5 PhD, Adjunct Professor, Escola de Enfermagem, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Director, Departamento de Vigilância de Doenças e Agravos não Transmissíveis e Promoção da Saúde, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde, Ministério da Saúde, Brazil

to identify the characteristics and reasons reported by Brazilian students for school bullying.

this cross-sectional study uses data from an epidemiological survey (National Survey of School Health) conducted in 2012. A total of 109,104 9th grade students from private and public schools participated. Data were collected through a self-applied questionnaire and the analysis was performed using SPSS, version 20, Complex Samples Module.

the prevalence of bullying was 7.2%, most frequently affecting Afro-descendant or indigenous younger boys, whose mothers were characterized by low levels of education. In regard to the reasons/causes of bullying, 51.2% did not specify; the second highest frequency of victimization was related to body appearance (18.6%); followed by facial appearance (16.2%); race/color (6.8%); sexual orientation 2.9%; religion 2.5%; and region of origin 1.7%. The results are similar to those found in other sociocultural contexts.

Conclusion:

the problem belongs to the health field because it gathers aspects that determine the students' health-disease-care continuum.

Introduction

The term bullying refers to a specific form of aggressive and violent behavior among peers in the school context. It is characterized by three criteria: intentionality, repeatability and imbalance of power ( 1 ) . Given the emphasis of this definition, school bullying are acts that repeat over time and involve a desire to harm colleagues or expose them to negative situations, while those exposed to negative situations have difficulty defending themselves ( 1 - 2 ) . This phenomenon may manifest directly and physically (e.g., hitting, spitting), verbally (derogatory nicknames, threats, insults, gossip), or through cyber-bullying (using social, electronic or communication media - internet, phone) or indirectly in situations where there is no direct confrontation among those involved (social exclusion, gossip) ( 3 - 4 ) .

Bullying is acknowledged as a relationship problem in which power is claimed through the use of violence and is a reality among school-aged children and adolescents in different cultural contexts ( 4 ) and a severe problem in many countries ( 3 - 5 ) . This phenomenon may lead students to experience psychological distress, compromise the teaching-learning process and influence how individuals respond to social demands over the course of their lives. These negative consequences ( 4 , 6 ) , entailed for all those involved and associated with increased prevalence and frequency with which bullying occurs ( 7 - 8 ) , transformed bullying into a severe public health problem worldwide ( 9 - 10 ) .

Studies show that both boys and girls become involved in situations of violence at school, though the actions in which they engage are different. Boys are more likely to experience physical bullying, while girls engage in indirect or verbal exchanges ( 1 , 5 , 10 ) . Even though there are an increased number of studies addressing school bullying, few of them address causal factors or the reasons determining the phenomenon. In general, the focus of investigations is on the characteristics of the students involved, the phenomenon's variables and the nuances it assumes in the school context without, however, establishing the reasons that explain this phenomenon.

In this sense, evidence from the scientific literature addressing this subject suggests that the dynamics of bullying is a result of the students' characteristics, the vulnerability or social status of one student in relation to another, that differentiate and segregate peers ( 3 ) . A study conducted in Netherlands with 80,770 students reports that the reasons students presented for the practice of bullying were physical appearance, individual behavior, level of school performance, physical or mental disabilities, religious aspects, gender issues, sexual orientation, and the inappropriate manner some students dealt with punishment ( 11 ) . The average prevalence of students identified as involved in bullying was 32.5% ( 11 ) .

A longitudinal studied conducted in the United States reports empirical evidence of increased school bullying beginning in the second half of the 2000s, with a prevalence of 25.8% in 2009 ( 12 ) . The study reports bullying was more common and more intense among boys, Afro-descendants, from rural areas, living with single parents, with low school performance and a low level of religious identification ( 12 ) . A Swedish study, reporting a prevalence of 44% of victims and aggressors, reports that adolescents tend to explain the phenomenon in terms of individual reasons instead of offering other dimensions like peer groups, school context, or social issues ( 5 ) . The study also reveals that aggressors were more likely to blame the victim ( 5 ) .

In Brazil, the complexity of concrete problems such as bullying and a concern with school health culminated in 2007 with the implementation of the Programa Saúde na Escola [Health Program at School], an inter-sector policy promoting the delivery of integral healthcare to school-aged children and adolescents. According to this proposal, primary healthcare (PHC) teams must put into practice actions that are focused on the promotion of health according to the principles and guidelines of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), addressing the dimensions of a culture of peace and fighting the various expressions of violence within schools and the community ( 13 ) .

Therefore, identifying the causes and reasons students become involved with bullying is essential to implementing coping strategies focused on human development and health promotion in the school context. From this perspective, this study's aim was to identify the reasons associated with school bullying reported by adolescents in public and private schools in Brazil.

Study's design

This cross-sectional study used data from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE), conducted in 2012. PeNSE addressed behavioral factors of risk and health protection in a sample of 8 th grade students attending daytime programs of public and private schools located in urban or rural areas from the entire Brazilian territory. The 9 th grade was chosen because it is the minimum level of education required to complete the self-administered questionnaire during data collection.

Study setting and sampling

The 2010 School Census was used to select the sample and those schools reporting 9 th grade classes administered during daytime hours were included in the list; nighttime programs were excluded. The sample was sized to estimate population parameters (proportions or prevalence) in diverse geographic domains comprising the 26 state capitals along with the Federal District; the set of capitals; the five geographic regions (North, Northeast, Southeast, South, and Midwest) in addition to the country as a whole. A probabilistic sample was used and the sampling plan was formed by schools (primary sampling units) and the schools' classes (secondary sampling units). In the case of non-capital cities, the primary sampling units were groups of cities and the secondary sampling units were schools, while classrooms were the tertiary sampling units. A total of 134,310 9 th grade students were enrolled in the selected classes administered during daytime hours by public and private schools located in urban and rural areas in the entire Brazilian territory. Of these, 132,123 students were considered regular students and 110,873 were present in classrooms on the day the questionnaire was applied. The final sample included 109,104 students, i.e., 83% of those considered eligible for the study ( 14 ) .

A total of 86% of students in the sample surveyed in 2012 were between 13 and 15 years old; 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female; and 17.2% students were from private schools and 82.8% were from public schools ( 14 ) .

Data were collected using smartphones, which were included in the structured, self-applied questionnaires with thematic modules that varied in the number of questions contained. Bullying was one of the dimensions addressed. Data collection was implemented by previously trained agents from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in schools during classes from April to September 2012. Further details concerning the methodology can be obtained in specific publications ( 14 ) .

Studied variables

The variable bullying was obtained through the question: "How often did some of your friends belittle, mock, scorn, intimidate or scoff at you IN THE LAST 30 DAYS to the point that you became hurt, bothered, annoyed, offended, or humiliated? The answers were categorized as NO (never, rarely, sometimes) and YES (most of the time, always).

Reasons/causes related to why one experiences bullying were verified through the question: "What is the reason/cause your friends have belittled, mocked, scorned, intimidated or scoffed at you IN THE LAST 30 DAYS?" The answers to this question were analyzed according to the following options: (a) My race or color; b) My religion; c) The appearance of my face; d) the appearance of my body; e) My sexual orientation; f) My region of origin; g) Other reasons.

Statistical Analysis

The analysis was performed through the computation of the prevalence of the variables experiencing bullying and their respective confidence intervals of 95%, according to the sociodemographic aspects of experiencing bullying (sex, age, race/color, religion, public or private school, mother's education). The reasons/causes of experiencing bullying reported by the students were analyzed according to sociodemographic aspects stratified by race or color, religion, facial appearance, body appearance, sexual orientation, region of origin, others.

When the reason one experienced bullying was reported to be the appearance of body, it was cross-tabulated with the variable Body Image, which was verified by the question: In regard to your body, do you consider yourself: Too thin, Thin, Normal, Fat, Too fat?

These analyses were performed using SPSS, version 20, with the Complex Samples Module, appropriate for data analyses obtained by a complex sampling plan ( 15 ) .

Ethical issues

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board according to referee report No. 192/2012 Registry No. 16805, CONEP/MS on March 27, 2012.

Table 1 shows that 7.2% (CI95% 6.6-7.8) of the students reported having experienced bullying, always or almost always felt humiliated, by schoolmates. The percentages were higher among male students, 7.9% (CI95% 7.0-9.1), in comparison to female students, 6.5% (CI95% 6.2-6.7); among students whose mothers were characterized by low levels of education, 8.3% (CI95% 7.2-9.4); among those who reported themselves to be Afro-descendant, 8.1% (CI 95%: 7.2-9.1); and among those self-reported as indigenous people 7.9% (CI95%: 7.3-8.5). No difference was found between private schools, 7.6% (CI95%: 6.9-8.3) and private school students, 7.1% (CI95%: 6.2-8.0).

Most times, 51.2% (CI95% 48.6-53.7%), causes of bullying were not identified followed by body image or appearance, 18.6% (CI95% 16.5-21); facial appearance, 16.2% (15.4%-17.1%); race or color, 6.8% (CI95% 6.4-7.3); sexual orientation, 2.9% (CI95% 2.5-3.5); religion, 2.5% (CI95% 1.9-3.2); and region of origin, 1.7 (CI95%1.5-2). The frequencies of those reporting having experienced bullying and those reporting always or almost always experienced bullying in the last 30 days were similar, except for those reporting the reason was their race/color, among whom frequency increased to always, as shown in Table 2 .

Body appearance was cross-tabulated with the variable body image for those reporting that the appearance of their bodies was the reason they suffered bullying, which showed bullying was more frequent among those reporting they were either too fat or too thin, 19.2% (CI95% 15.1-24) and 12.1% (CI95% 10.4-14.0), respectively ( Table 3 ).

The reasons did not vary according to age, except in regard to sexual orientation among students younger than 13 years of age (15% - CI95%: 7.2-28.6). In regard to sex, boys were more frequently bullied than girls and also more frequently reported experiencing bullying triggered by their race or color 8.9% (CI95% 8.19-9.9), while 4.5% (CI95% 3.8-5.2) of the girls reported bullying was triggered for this reason. A total of 3.9% (CI95% 3.5-4.5) of the boys and 1.8% (CI95% 1.2-2.0) of the girls reporting bullying was triggered by their sexual orientation. Race/color shows considerable difference in regard to how often bullying is experienced: Afro-descendant boys report four times more bullying, 23.2% (CI95% 21.8-24.7), while indigenous students report bullying at twice the frequency, 12.5% (CI95%7.5-20.3). Students of mixed race (3.8% CI95% 2.9-4.8), Caucasian (3.1% CI95% 2.5-3.9), and Asian (4.7% CI95% 1.4-14.4), reported bullying is experienced less frequently. Public schools also present a higher number of reports of bullying triggered by race/color, 7.2% (CI95% 6.6-8.0). Bullying triggered by race/color also increased among children of mothers with no education, 11.6% (CI95% 8.5-15.6), as shown in Table 4 .

This study's findings show that 7.2% of the students experienced bullying, which was more frequently reported by younger boys, whose mothers present lower levels of education, and are of Afro-descent or indigenous. Most did not report the reason or cause that triggers bullying. In regard to differences between sexes, the causes reported by boys and girls were similar, mostly appearance of the face and body, however, boys most frequently reported bullying triggered by race/color and sexual orientation.

This study highlights that "other reasons/causes" is the most frequent option chosen to explain bullying. The frequency with which this option was chosen may be due to the poor understanding of students concerning the process of victimization or how they qualify jokes or the experience of being bullied. The process of victimization is characterized by receiving negative attention or aggressive behavior from peers over time and what determines its occurrence is being different or behaving differently others ( 2 ) . Investigating what causes the phenomenon based on self-reports addresses these dimensions and the sensitive nature of the issues implicated in the issue.

Almost a fifth of the students reported body appearance, followed by facial appearance, as being causes of bullying. Similar results were found in other contexts that indicate that physical appearance is one of the main reasons a student becomes a victim of bullying ( 16 ) . A potential interpretation for this information involves culturally valued social standards in which diversity and differences are not tolerated. One epidemiological study conducted with 1,230 students from a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, identified that 30.1% were overweight or obese, showing that students dissatisfied with their body image were three times more likely to be victims of bullying. Statistically, however, excess weight was not significantly associated with the phenomenon ( 16 ) . In turn one study, similar to this study, that was developed in Ireland reports that body image, such as considering oneself to be thin or too thin, was significantly associated with being a victim ( 17 ) .

Classical studies addressing this phenomenon do not report evidence that body image is a determinant factor in the process of victimization ( 1 ) . Other studies however, verify that victims often present characteristics that distinguish them from most of their peers, such as obesity, thinness, or the use of prosthetics or orthotics ( 18 - 19 ) .

A student's skin color or race was also reported as being significantly associated with victimization. Afro-descendant students were four times more likely to experience bullying, while indigenous people were two times more likely to experience bullying. This dimension is also linked to social and cultural issues, to racism and prejudice, since there is a hegemonic pattern of valuing white skin ( 20 - 23 ) . One study in the United States correlated race with gender and identified that these variables were significant predictors of bullying. The study shows that boys were 25.5% more likely to become victims than girls, while Afro-descendant students were 46.3% more likely to become victims at school than Caucasian students ( 23 ) . Afro-descendant and indigenous students addressed in this study were also more likely to become victims due to their race/color. It is worth noting that individuals of mixed race did not present the same rates of being bullied, an aspect that shows the importance of verifying whether students from different races have different criteria to identify and assess violent practices.

We cannot ignore the factors and individual variables that explain the phenomenon, as we cannot ignore contextual factors, such as mother's education, in the determination of bullying. As observed, the indication of no maternal education was the most prevalent for victimization and the scientific literature considers this variable to be a demographic predictor of students' success or failure at school. One study recently conducted in the United States reports that students whose mothers presented low levels of education were more likely to become victims ( 12 ) . In general, results concerning association between mother's education and involvement with bullying are explored because the mother's education is considered to be relevant within the families' set of social and cultural characteristics.

Other issues, such as the students' sexual orientation, religion and region of origin, are not shown to be expressive causes for victimization. In fact, these individual characteristics of students are less frequently observed than other characteristics. Nonetheless, they are manifested differently between sexes; for instance, boys more frequently report victimization associated with sexual orientation than do girls. Additionally, the literature shows that sexual orientation is one of the reasons related to bullying ( 11 ) . Therefore, these are important variables through which the phenomenon may be approached and related to proposing interventions intended to understand diversity, especially considering the diffuse nature of these in modern times and the emergence of other expressions of sexuality, religiosity, and migratory movements that require understanding and tolerance of diversity ( 4 , 23 - 24 ) .

Overall, the results are relevant and contribute to the understanding of bullying and enable discussing the problem of violence within the school environment. Bullying is manifested through different signs, behaviors, and prejudice in interpersonal relationships among students. Because of its specificity and complexity, bullying in an interdisciplinary and inter-sector object that demands solutions follow the same logic and direction, such as the Health School Project. Education actions and health promotion at school are different ways for PHC workers to encourage new forms in which students may relate with each other and with the world ( 10 , 13 ) .

Finally we mention some of the study's limitations. Despite the survey's validity and reliability, its cross-sectional design hinders causal/temporal inferences between exposure to or involvement with school bullying. This limits addressing the issue of causality, though this study's results agree with those reported by prospective studies. In this sense, the individual characteristics of victims do not justify aggressive and violent behavior that is inherent to bullying, as they cannot be isolated, assessed and exclusively seen as causes or motivations to become involved with the phenomenon. Another limitation is the large number of references to the option "other causes/reasons" in the experience of bullying. Hence, we suggest that other psychological characteristics or social relationships be addressed by the instrument, such as shyness, reservation in resolving conflicts, low self-esteem, among other factors. Additionally, students should be asked to indicate causes and reasons they suffer bullying even after providing alternative answers, as an opportunity to fill in some of the gaps observed.

Conclusions

This study's results concerning the identification of reasons associated with bullying among Brazilian students show that some individual characteristics are related to the phenomenon and contextual aspects that determine it. Bullying is a common experience in the lives of Brazilian students and a problem within the domain of the health field since it gathers determinants of the health-disease-care process for school-aged children and adolescents. This debate is highly important because it support tools for the development of other studies and health practices, especially in primary healthcare and in the interface between health and education.

We expect these data to encourage attention being paid to public policies concerning this issue, resulting in indicators being provided that can support the development of coping strategies at the inter-sector and inter-disciplinary levels, with a view to encourage a non-violent culture, partnering the health and education sectors. Further studies are needed, especially those providing qualitative analyses or triangulation methods and approaches, to understand the meanings and processes in which bullying emerges in the school context and its dynamics in the reality of Brazilian schools.

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What Are the Different Types of Bullying?

Bullying can come in many different forms

Ridofranz / Getty Images

6 Types of Bullying

• Mental Health Effects

When you think of bullying, the physically and verbally aggressive behavior that school children endure from their peers might be what immediately springs to mind. However, it's important to recognize that bully can come in many different forms. Just because it doesn't involve physical or verbal aggression doesn't mean that it doesn't count as bullying. In fact, there are actually six different kinds of bullying: physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial.

These types of bullying often overlap. Bullies frequently use more than one form to abuse a victim. Moreover, bullying isn't limited to kids and teenagers. Adults can also be guilty of bullying, too.

At a Glance

Bullying is a common problem among school-age kids, but it can affect anyone of any age. This intentional aggressive behavior is often about intimidation and control, and it can range from overt acts of violence to more subtle forms of emotional intimidation. Being able to recognize the different forms that bullying can take, including physical, verbal, relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial, is important. It can take a heavy toll on victims, so spotting the signs and taking action is crucial.

What Exactly Is Bullying?

Bullying is defined as any intentional, repeated aggressive behavior directed by a perpetrator against a target in the same age group.

One of the most noteworthy components of bullying is an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim.

Sometimes, the power imbalance is obvious when, for example, a bigger, stronger kid bullies a weaker, smaller kid or when a group of people bullies a single individual. However, sometimes the power imbalance is more difficult to discern because it involves less obvious factors, such as differences in popularity, intelligence, or ability, or knowledge of the information the victim finds embarrassing.

Bullying falls into six categories, some of which are more obvious than others. They include:

• Physical bullying
• Verbal bullying
• Relational bullying

Cyberbullying

• Sexual bullying
• Prejudicial bullying

Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is the most obvious type of bullying and what many people think of when they imagine this kind of aggression .

Physical bullying involves any assault on a person's body, including hitting, kicking, tripping, or pushing. It can also extend to inappropriate hand gestures or stealing or breaking a victims' belongings.

Physical bullying is perpetrated by an individual or group of individuals who are bigger or stronger than the individual being targeted.

If a physical altercation happens between two people of similar size and strength, it's not considered physical bullying.

Studies have shown that boys are more likely to be involved in physical bullying than girls. For example, research has found that boys are more likely to be both the perpetrators and victims of physical bullying.

Some research suggests that such differences stem from gender differences in socialization. Boys are socialized to use direct aggression, whereas girls are socialized to express aggression indirectly.

Verbal Bullying

Verbal bullying involves using spoken or written words to insult or intimidate a victim. It includes name-calling, teasing, and even threats.

One study found that verbal bullying was the most common form of bullying. Boys experienced this type of bullying at a slightly higher rate than girls, and most were bullied by their own friends.

Verbal bullying isn't always easy to recognize because it often takes place when authority figures aren't around. Moreover, a bully can pass it off as good-natured ribbing between friends. As a result, it can be difficult for the victim to prove. Therefore, this form of bullying can become a long-term source of stress and anxiety.

Relational Bullying

Relational bullying, which is also referred to as relational aggression or social bullying, involves actions intended to harm a victim's reputation or relationships. It can include embarrassing the victim in public, spreading rumors, purposely leaving them out of social situations, or ostracizing them from a group.

Unlike more overt types of bullying, it is especially sly and insidious because it involves social manipulation.

Relational bullying is often associated with so-called "mean girls." However, while research has shown girls are more often the victims of relational bullying than boys, both boys are more likely to be perpetrators of this type of bullying.

On the other hand, studies suggest that girls who engage in relational bullying have worse adjustment problems , including issues maintaining fulfilling and positive relationships.

Relational bullying can lead to isolation , loneliness , depression, and social anxiety. Unfortunately, research indicates that teachers, school counselors, and other educational staff tend to feel relational bullying is less serious and have less empathy for victims of relational bullying than victims of physical and verbal bullying.

This may be because the severity of relational bullying is more challenging to detect. Physical and verbal bullying results in disciplinary action toward the perpetrator around 50% of the time, whereas this response only happens 10% of the time with relational bullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that happens via electronic devices like computers, smart phones, and tablets. It can take place over text messages, social media, apps, or online forums and involves posting or sending harmful content, including messages and photos, and sharing personal information that causes humiliation.

Research by the Cyberbullying Research Center shows that 15% of 9- to 12-year-olds and 37% of 13- to 17-year-olds have experienced cyberbullying at some point in their lives.

In-person bullying is still more prevalent than cyberbullying but cyberbullying is a growing problem. Not only are perpetrators of cyberbullying less likely to be caught, but the online nature of cyberbullying can also be especially damaging to victims.

People have their devices on them all day, every day, so if they're being cyberbullied, they never get a break, even in their homes.

Similarly, targets of cyberbullying may be constantly reminded of the online bullying they've endured because, even if they block the cyberbully, others may see and share the evidence.

Sexual Bullying

Sexual bullying is online or in-person bullying that involves sexual comments or actions, including sexual jokes and name-calling, crude gestures, spreading sexual rumors, sending sexual photos or videos, and touching or grabbing someone without permission.

Sexual bullying and harassment are remarkably widespread. A 2019 study found that 81% of women and 43% of men experienced sexual harassment or assault at some point in their lifetime.

Meanwhile, sexting, sending or receiving sexually explicit messages or images between electronic devices, is becoming increasingly common.

Research shows that among kids between the ages of 11 and 17, 15% of them sent sexts and 27% received sexts; the prevalence of the behavior increases as adolescents age.

When sexts are sent without consent, such as when private nude photos or videos of an individual are widely shared among a peer group, it can lead to sexual bullying and even sexual assault .

Prejudicial Bullying

Prejudicial bullying involves online or in-person bullying based on the target's race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation . It is based on stereotypes and is often a result of the belief that some people deserve to be treated with less respect than others.

Though prejudicial bullying has been studied less than other types of bullying, research indicates that ethnic and sexual minorities are more likely to be bullied than their peers.

However, ethnic minorities that attend more ethnically diverse schools experience less bullying than those in schools that are more ethnically homogenous.

How Common Is Bullying?

Bullying is widespread and can negatively impact both bullying victims and the bullies themselves. A 2019 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 19.5% of ninth through twelfth graders were bullied on school property in the 12 months prior to completing the questionnaire.

Moreover, a study by the World Health Organization (WHO) conducted in 2013 and 2014 in 42 countries in Europe and North America found that, on average, 14% of 11-year-old boys and 11% of 11-year-old girls were bullied at least twice in the previous two to three months.

Mental Health Effects of Bullying

People who are bullied can experience a plethora of short- and long-term problems , including depression and anxiety, social withdrawal , substance abuse, difficulties at school or work such as underachieving and poor attendance, and even suicide .

In addition, children who are targets of bullying may become victims or perpetrators of violence later in life. Meanwhile, those who bully others are more likely to get into fights and vandalize property, abuse drugs and alcohol, have criminal convictions in adulthood , and abuse their romantic partners and children .

Even people who simply observe bullying can experience issues, including mental health difficulties and increased substance use.

Bullying can have lasting mental health effects, which is why it's so important to recognize it and address it as soon as possible. While physical and verbal bullying are the most recognizable forms, other types are also common and often occur together. Relational, cyber, sexual, and prejudicial bullying are other types of bullying that are sometimes less readily apparent (but just as damaging).

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database .

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By Cynthia Vinney, PhD Cynthia Vinney, PhD is an expert in media psychology and a published scholar whose work has been published in peer-reviewed psychology journals.

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Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence

Title: the ai scientist: towards fully automated open-ended scientific discovery.

Abstract: One of the grand challenges of artificial general intelligence is developing agents capable of conducting scientific research and discovering new knowledge. While frontier models have already been used as aides to human scientists, e.g. for brainstorming ideas, writing code, or prediction tasks, they still conduct only a small part of the scientific process. This paper presents the first comprehensive framework for fully automatic scientific discovery, enabling frontier large language models to perform research independently and communicate their findings. We introduce The AI Scientist, which generates novel research ideas, writes code, executes experiments, visualizes results, describes its findings by writing a full scientific paper, and then runs a simulated review process for evaluation. In principle, this process can be repeated to iteratively develop ideas in an open-ended fashion, acting like the human scientific community. We demonstrate its versatility by applying it to three distinct subfields of machine learning: diffusion modeling, transformer-based language modeling, and learning dynamics. Each idea is implemented and developed into a full paper at a cost of less than $15 per paper. To evaluate the generated papers, we design and validate an automated reviewer, which we show achieves near-human performance in evaluating paper scores. The AI Scientist can produce papers that exceed the acceptance threshold at a top machine learning conference as judged by our automated reviewer. This approach signifies the beginning of a new era in scientific discovery in machine learning: bringing the transformative benefits of AI agents to the entire research process of AI itself, and taking us closer to a world where endless affordable creativity and innovation can be unleashed on the world's most challenging problems. Our code is open-sourced at this https URL

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Fact-Checking Biden’s Speech and More: Day 1 of the Democratic National Convention

We followed the developments and fact-checked the speakers, providing context and explanation.

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President Biden praised his administration’s accomplishments and declared his vice president a worthy successor on the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday.

Mr. Biden’s speech capped a night in which Democratic lawmakers and party stalwarts praised Vice President Kamala Harris, warned repeatedly that former President Donald J. Trump was unfit for office and celebrated Mr. Biden’s legacy.

Here’s a look at some of their claims.

“While schools closed and dead bodies filled morgues, Donald Trump downplayed the virus. He told us to inject bleach into our bodies. He peddled conspiracy theories across the country. We lost hundreds of thousands of Americans, and our economy collapsed.”

— Representative Robert Garcia of California

This is exaggerated.

Mr. Trump’s comments, in April 2020, about the efficacy of disinfectants and light as treatments for the coronavirus elicited uproar and confusion . He did not literally instruct people to inject bleach, but raised the suggestion as an “interesting” concept to test out.

At the April 2020 news conference , a member of Mr. Trump’s coronavirus task force said that the virus dies under direct sunlight and that applying bleach in indoor spaces kills the virus in five minutes and isopropyl alcohol does so in 30 seconds.

Mr. Trump responded: “Supposing we hit the body with a tremendous — whether it’s ultraviolet or just very powerful light — and I think you said that that hasn’t been checked, but you’re going to test it. And then I said, supposing you brought the light inside the body, which you can do either through the skin or in some other way, and I think you said you’re going to test that too.”

He added: “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? Because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.”

Jeanna Smialek

“Trump talks big about bringing back manufacturing jobs, but you know who actually did it? President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.”

— Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York

This needs context .

It is true that manufacturing employment is up sharply under the Biden administration, but much of the gains are simply a recovery from job losses early in the coronavirus pandemic. Manufacturing employment is just slightly above its 2019 level. And factory employment also climbed somewhat from when Donald J. Trump took office in early 2017 and the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

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“Thanks to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we reopened our schools.”

— Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina

This needs context.

President Donald J. Trump and President Biden took different approaches to school reopenings during the coronavirus pandemic, with Mr. Trump encouraging schools to stay open and Mr. Biden emphasizing the need to contain the virus before reopening classroom doors. While they could signal policy preferences, developments in how the virus spread and how states and school districts reacted were sometimes out of their control.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned schools to prepare for disruption in February 2020, and a high school in Washington State became the first to close its doors that month . More schools across the country followed in adopting online instruction, but by the fall of 2020, some schools — often in states with Republican governors — returned to in-person instruction.

One audit found that by the fall of 2020 more schools had reverted to a traditional or hybrid model than remained virtual. A C.D.C. study found that school closures peaked in 2021, under the Biden administration, when the Omicron variant spread. By the fall of 2021, though, 98 percent of public schools were offering in-person instruction full time, according to the Education Department .

“Donald Trump wants to put our 1787 constitution through his Project 2025 paper shredder.”

— Representative Jasmine Crockett, Democrat of Texas

Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals assembled by a Washington think tank for a Republican presidential administration, does not directly come from Mr. Trump or his campaign.

Still, CNN documented instances where 140 people who worked for the Trump administration had a role in Project 2025. Some were top advisers to Mr. Trump in his first term and a re all but certain to step into prominent posts should he win a second term.

Mr. Trump has also supported some of the proposals, with even some overlap between Project 2025 and his own campaign plans. Among the similarities: undercutting the independence of the Justice Department and pressing to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs. And he enacted other initiatives mentioned in Project 2025 in his first term, such as levying tariffs on China and making it easier to fire federal workers.

But Mr. Trump has criticized some elements as “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal” though he has not specified which proposals he opposes. When the director of the project departed the think tank, Mr. Trump’s campaign released a statement that stated: “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign — it will not end well for you.”

“JD Vance says women should stay in violent marriages and pregnancies resulting from rape are simply inconvenient.”

— Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky

Mr. Beshear was referring to comments Mr. Vance made during his 2022 campaign for Senate. Mr. Vance has rejected such interpretations.

In remarks to a Christian high school in California in September 2021, Mr. Vance spoke of his grandparents’ marriage, which he described in his memoir as violent.

“This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘Well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term,” he said .

Asked by Vice News about his remarks in 2022, Mr. Vance said, “Any fair person would recognize I was criticizing the progressive frame on this issue, not embracing it.”

He also told Fox News that Democrats had “twisted my words here” and that “it’s not what I believe, it’s not what I said.”

And regarding pregnancies resulting from rape, Mr. Vance told Fox News that he was criticizing the view that such pregnancies are “inconvenient.”

In a 2021 interview , Mr. Vance was asked whether abortion bans should have exceptions for rape or incest. He responded, “At the end of the day, we’re talking about an unborn baby. What kind of society do we want to have? A society that looks at unborn babies as inconveniences to be discarded?”

“Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin, seniors with diabetes will pay $35 a month.”

— President Biden

Mr. Biden signed a law that places a cap of $35 a month on insulin for all Medicare Part D beneficiaries. But he is overstating the average cost before the law.

Patients’ out-of-pocket spending on insulin was $434 on average for all of 2019 — not per month — and $449 per year for Medicare enrollees, according to the Health and Human Services Department .

“The smallest racial wealth gap in 20 years.”

As a percentage of wealth held by white families, Black and Latino families did grow to the largest amounts in 2022 in two decades. But the disparity in absolute dollar value actually increased.

“He called them ‘suckers and losers.’”

The claim that, as president, Donald J. Trump called veterans “suckers” and “losers” stems from a 2020 article in The Atlantic about his relationship to the military.

The article relied on anonymous sources, but many of the accounts have been corroborated by other outlets, including The New York Times, and by John F. Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general who served as Mr. Trump’s White House chief of staff. Mr. Trump has emphatically denied making the remarks since the article was published. Here’s a breakdown .

“Trump wants to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

This is misleading..

Mr. Trump has said repeatedly during his 2024 presidential campaign that he would not cut Social Security or Medicare, though he had previously shown brief and vague support for such proposals.

Asked about his position on the programs in relation to the national debt, Mr. Trump told CNBC in March, “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.”

But Mr. Trump and his campaign clarified that he would not seek to cut the programs. Mr. Trump told the website Breitbart , “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.” And during a July rally in Minnesota, he again vowed, “I will not cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare, and I will not raise the retirement age by one day, not by one day.”

Still, Mr. Trump has not outlined a clear plan for keeping the programs solvent. During his time in office, Mr. Trump did propose some cuts to Medicare — though experts said the cost reductions would not have significantly affected benefits — and to Social Security’s programs for people with disabilities. They were not enacted by Congress.

“He created the largest debt any president had in four years with his two trillion dollars tax cut for the wealthy.”

Looking at a single presidential term, Donald J. Trump’s administration did rack up more debt than any other in raw dollars — about $7.9 trillion . But the debt rose more under President Barack Obama’s eight years than under Mr. Trump’s four years. Also, when viewed as a percentage increase, the national debt rose more under President George H.W. Bush’s single term than under Mr. Trump’s.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Mr. Trump’s tax cuts — which passed in December 2017 with no Democrats in support — roughly added another $1 trillion to the federal deficit from 2018 to 2021, even after factoring in economic growth spurred by the tax cuts. But other drivers of the deficit include several sweeping measures that had bipartisan approval. The first coronavirus stimulus package , which received near unanimous support in Congress, added $2 trillion to the deficit over the next two fiscal years. Three additional spending measures contending with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic ramifications added another $1.4 trillion.

It is also important to note that presidents do not hold unilateral responsibility for the debt increase under their time in office. Policies from previous administrations — and programs such as Social Security and Medicare — continue to drive up debt, as do unexpected circumstances.