How government social programs can help reduce bullying

Once accepted as part of adolescents’ school experiences, policymakers are now concerned with the causes and effects of bullying on other children and those who bully themselves. Bryan L. Sykes, Alex R. Piquero, and Jason P. Gioviano take a close look at how neighborhood and cumulative disadvantage, as well as participation in needs-based social programs, can work to increase or decrease the risk of bullying among adolescents. Sykes and his colleagues find that adolescents are more likely to bully if they come from families that have difficulty covering the basics, but are not on social program assistance, and that such social programs reduce the chances that blacks and Hispanic adolescents will bully.