UC Merced

Children continue to suffer consequences of victimization from bullying in school despite prevention efforts by the U.S. educational system. Many bullying prevention programs do not account for sociological processes affecting the prevalence of bullying victimization, or examine specific forms of bullying independently. This paper uses intersectional theory and relies on nationally representative data of fourth grade students to inform my approach to the study of bullying. I find that different race and gender subgroups experience different forms of bullying. Simply controlling for gender and race does not account for the unique vulnerabilities of particular groups. I also show that certain school contexts put youth at greater risk of bullying. I conclude by suggesting that bullying programs should be developed with these insights in mind. I also suggest that future research should consider the intersection of race, class, and gender, and examine how particular types of students fare in particular types of school contexts.