NEW YORK—Eighteen percent of the city’s high school students reported being bullied in 2011 according to a report released by the Department of Health.
That is well below the national average of 24 percent. Eleven percent of New York City students reported being bullied in school and on the Internet, also less than the average in the rest of the country.
Ninth-graders were the most likely to be bullied and the average decreased across the board as students moved on to higher grades.
Students who have been bullied are twice as likely to be persistently sad, three times more likely to have considered suicide, and twice as likely to have attempted suicide, according to the study. Students who have been bullied are more likely to smoke cigarettes, binge drink, take prescription painkillers, and smoke marijuana, the study found.
A schools spokesman told the New York Post that New York’s statistics were lower than the national average due to special training for teachers and the launch of a department of education website with resources for students, parents, and teachers.
