A latest research reveals that an estimated 200,000 high school students who are bullied bring weapons to school.
Researchers found that youngsters who are bullied in different ways are up to 31 times more likely to carry a weapon to school.
"Victims of bullying who have been threatened, engaged in a fight, injured, or had property stolen or damaged are much more likely to carry a gun or knife to school," said senior investigator Andrew Adesman, MD, FAAP, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Steven & Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York.
The research examined data from the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System that included a nationally representative survey of over15,000 U.S. high school students. The survey was carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Students were asked if they were bullied in school past year. Researchers also asked them on how many days in the past month they carried a weapon on school grounds.
Following this, the researchers examined whether any of the risk factors increased the victims' chances of carrying a weapon to school.
The study results showed that 20 percent of high school students were bullied and they were more likely to be in lower grades, females and white. They also were more likely to carry a weapon to school than kids who were not bullied (8.6 percent vs. 4.6 percent).
"Large numbers of high school students report having been victimized by bullies and admit to carrying a weapon to school. Greater efforts need to be expended on reducing bullying in all of its many forms," said Dr Schapiro.
"Tragedies like the Columbine High School massacre have alerted educators and the public to the grave potential for premeditated violence not just by bullies, but by their victims as well," said Dr. Adesman. "Our analysis of data collected by the CDC clearly identifies which victims of bullying are most likely to carry a gun or other weapon to school."
"With estimates of more than 200,000 victims of bullying carrying a weapon to high school, more effective prevention efforts and intervention strategies need to be identified," Dr. Schapiro added. "The greatest focus should not just be on bullies, but on the victims of bullies most likely to carry a weapon and potentially use deadly force if threatened."
