Prevent Bullying

Girls talking behind backs of teen girl, who is checking her phone

Bullying is any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) toward a youth by another youth or group of youths, who are not siblings or current dating partners, involving an observed or perceived power imbalance. These behaviors are repeated, or have the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying can happen in person and electronically (known as cyberbullying) and can occur at school or in other settings. A recent study on youth risk behavior[12.1 MB] showed the following statistics:

Nineteen percent of U.S. high school students reported being bullied at school in the last year.

About 15 percent of U.S. high school students reported being bullied electronically in the last year.

“Cyberbullying” is bullying that takes places over digital devices and can occur through email, text message, social media, and other digital applications.

What CDC Is Doing

CDC works to prevent bullying before it starts. We support evidence-based actions in communities to effectively prevent bullying and other forms of youth violence. Research on preventing bullying is still developing, but promising evidence is available for school-wide programs.

Resources Now Available in English and Spanish!

Spanish translations for CDC’s bullying (acoso – español) and youth violence (violencia juvenil – español) webpages are now available, as well as CDC’s Youth Violence Prevention Technical Package, A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors – (Un paquete técnico integral para la prevención de la violencia juvenil y los comportamientos de riesgo asociados[3.89 MB]).