Bullying Effects Academics, Especially for Blacks and Latinos, Study Finds
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Bullying not only causes physical and emotional damage, but victims may also suffer academically, particularly high-achieving black and Latino students, a recently presented study found. Two sociologists discovered that the grade point average of all students who were bullied in 10th grade dropped by 12th grade, according to the Boston Herald. The GPAs of white students dropped slightly while the grade point averages of black students dropped almost one-third of a point and bullied Latinos lost half a point. Stereotypes of minorities as being tough or street smart could be one reason to blame, Lisa M. Williams, lead author of the study and Ohio State University doctoral student, said. “Schools may think that because students are black and Latino, they’re better able to handle bullying,” she told the newspaper, “and their schools won’t have the same type of [bullying prevention] programs.”
The study relies on nationally representative data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002.