In school, popular kids get bullied
just like the outcasts, study says
By Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela on 04.03.14
Word Count 564
Jonah Mowry made his now viral YouTube video for his small group of friends. He made the private video
public in an effort to communicate to school bullies that he was finished being their victim. Photo: Joshua
Sudock/Orange County Register/MCT
LOS ANGELES—Only the king and queen of the prom are safe from bullying.
Researchers say that the more popular teens are — except for those at the very
top of the high school social ladder — the more likely they are to be bullied
(https://www.newsela.com/?tag=bullying). This may come as a surprise to
people who presumed outcasts were the exclusive targets.
Researchers Robert Faris of the University of California at Davis and Diane
Felmlee of Penn State University write that traditional views of bullying —
reported by nearly a fifth of teens — tell less than the whole story. For most
students, becoming more popular and gaining in status can "increase the
likelihood of victimization and the severity of its consequences,” they wrote in
the journal of the American Sociological Association.
The aggressors, too, often “possess strong social skills.” They bully others to
move up the social ladder rather than to “re-enact their own troubled home
lives.”
All About Status
While the uppermost teens on the social scale can “afford” to be nice, those in
the next level down have to keep themselves there, Faris said Tuesday.
He and Felmlee looked at how status can increase the chances of being a
victim and how it can magnify the distress caused, which can include
depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
They wrote that “the ways in which status can increase risk have been largely
ignored and we identify a new pattern of victimization.” And it can work, they
said. “Evidence suggests that aggressors’ campaigns of harassment and abuse
are rewarded with increased prestige … particularly when they target socially
prominent rivals.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that popular kids get targeted: If the tormentor
is aiming to raise his or her own status, “targeting prominent rivals makes
strategic sense,” the researchers wrote. And for high-status victims, the fall can
be more drastic.
To sort this out, the researchers used information from more than 8,000 students
in 19 North Carolina schools about their five closest friends, and five students
who had “picked on or were mean” to them, and five they in turn had been
mean to.
The researchers used that web of connections to draw their conclusions.
A School's Social Map
In the group, about half the students were white and a third were black. Most
lived with two parents. Girls had higher rates of victimization. The researchers
noted that there could be differences in other populations.
Some students found protection; being friends with teens of the opposite
gender provided something of a shield.
The researchers don’t suggest that outcast teens of various sorts don’t get
bullied — only that theirs is not the whole story.
Faris also said that there was a message in the research for teenagers and their
parents: It’s probably better to have a few close friends than 200 Facebook
friends. In addition, the “drama” that’s often discussed about adolescent
relationships might be taken more seriously — by students and parents, he said.
And many students, Faris said, don’t see what’s happening “as bullying and
they may be sort of like fish in water and accustomed to having a lot of drama
around them.”
The students don’t see what the researchers do: “We have very precise
measures of the status and we have access to the social map of the school. We
can assign a score to each kid. … The kids don’t have access to that degree of
precision.”
Quiz
1
2
3
Which of the following sentences BEST supports the central idea of the article?
(A)
Gender and race are not the only factors that determine who is
likely to be bullied; popularity is also a major factor.
(B)
Popular kids are prominent targets for bullies and the only
protection against this torment is to be friends with the opposite
gender.
(C)
Many kids have tough lives at home; and to escape this reality, they
bully other kids and try to climb up the social ladder.
(D)
Many students are not aware that they are being bullied as they are
used to such “drama” every day.
Select the sentence that thoroughly summarizes the article.
(A)
The issue of bullying is critical as victims usually suffer from
depression, anxiety, and even develop suicidal tendencies.
(B)
Bullies possess good social skills and they carry out strategic
campaigns to overpower popular kids.
(C)
As a solution, experts suggest that students and parents be made
aware of the problem, and that students maintain a small social
circle.
(D)
Popular kids are increasingly at risk of getting bullied as compared
to outcast or less popular kids; aggressors bully popular kids to
gain importance and power.
Why does the author include the following sentence in the article?
The researchers don't suggest that outcast teens of various
sorts don't get bullied — only that theirs is not the whole story.
(A)
to show the research results are not as accurate as one would
assume
(B)
to show that outcast teens are as bullied as high-status kids
(C)
to show that outcast teens are not bullied to the same extent as
high-status kids
(D)
to show that the earlier belief that bullying was restricted to outcast
teens is not the complete picture
4
Which of the following does the author use to show that popularity leads to more
bullying?
(A)
mentioning the results of the research that was conducted in North
Carolina schools
(B)
describing the social skills of aggressors that help them rise up the
social ladder
(C)
making a comparison between the traditional and the present views
on bullying
(D)
highlighting the rivalry between high-status kids and their
competitors
Answer Key
1
2
3
Which of the following sentences BEST supports the central idea of the article?
(A)
Gender and race are not the only factors that determine who is
likely to be bullied; popularity is also a major factor.
(B)
Popular kids are prominent targets for bullies and the only
protection against this torment is to be friends with the opposite
gender.
(C)
Many kids have tough lives at home; and to escape this reality, they
bully other kids and try to climb up the social ladder.
(D)
Many students are not aware that they are being bullied as they are
used to such “drama” every day.
Select the sentence that thoroughly summarizes the article.
(A)
The issue of bullying is critical as victims usually suffer from
depression, anxiety, and even develop suicidal tendencies.
(B)
Bullies possess good social skills and they carry out strategic
campaigns to overpower popular kids.
(C)
As a solution, experts suggest that students and parents be made
aware of the problem, and that students maintain a small social
circle.
(D)
Popular kids are increasingly at risk of getting bullied as
compared to outcast or less popular kids; aggressors bully
popular kids to gain importance and power.
Why does the author include the following sentence in the article?
The researchers don't suggest that outcast teens of various
sorts don't get bullied — only that theirs is not the whole story.
(A)
to show the research results are not as accurate as one would
assume
(B)
to show that outcast teens are as bullied as high-status kids
(C)
to show that outcast teens are not bullied to the same extent as
high-status kids
(D)
to show that the earlier belief that bullying was restricted to
outcast teens is not the complete picture
4
Which of the following does the author use to show that popularity leads to more
bullying?
(A)
mentioning the results of the research that was conducted in
North Carolina schools
(B)
describing the social skills of aggressors that help them rise up the
social ladder
(C)
making a comparison between the traditional and the present views
on bullying
(D)
highlighting the rivalry between high-status kids and their
competitors