Bullying: An Age-Old Problem That Needs New Solutions

In recent years, bullying has begun to receive serious research attention within the scientific community, with the first systematic studies on bullying emerging in the 1970s by Norwegian researcher, Dan Olweus. Today, bullying is recognized as a worldwide issue for children and youth around the globe, and research on the topic increasing exponentially. Media attention to the tragic deaths of youth who were victims of bullying has raised public awareness in countries around the world, and our rapidly growing capacity for global communication has given rise to an unprecedented international exchange of information, as well as cross-national studies of the issue. Given such worldwide collaboration and attention, our understanding of the complexity and significance of the problem of school bullying has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Although questions still outnumber answers, we are beginning to unravel the many facets of bullying and victimization that our children are facing. With this knowledge, we are also beginning to find effective ways to reduce bullying. However, we still have much work to do to translate research knowledge into effective practice