Results of Bullying/Victimology Survey 2019

Purpose:       The purpose of this survey was to ascertain if a correlation could be established between age, education level and enhanced perception of “bullying” and/or the enhanced perception of being a victim or having been victimized.

Hypothesis: That the perception of bullying and/or victimization has changed across the span of the past three generations and further that the change in perception of the term “bullying” – what actually comprises such – combined with the societal shift toward punishing students for any act of violence, even if in self-defense or defense of others, has increased the willingness of people to be victims, thereby empowering criminal activity.

Survey Summary:  There were a total of 721 respondents. ALL 721 respondents answered EVERY question.* The data was then sorted by age, gender, year of high school graduation, education level and veteran status.

*Only data gathering / respondent mistake identified is that some of the respondents answered question of “What year did you graduate from high school?” with their year of birth instead (assumed from data comparisons). These answers were removed from data analysis where sorted by year of High School graduation.

For the purposes of this study, the goal was to differentiate between “generations.” Using the available data, the generations will be sorted by age from 30 & under (born in 1988 or later), 31-50 (born between 1968-1987), and 51+ (born in 1967 or earlier). Using those groups the generational proportions of respondents are:

• < or = 30:        19.14% (for the purposes of this study, this generation will be referred to as “Millennials” even though some of them may be younger than would generally fit into that designation.)
• 31-50:             46.19% (for the purposes of this study, this generation will be referred to as “Gen X”)
• > or = 51:        34.68% (for the purposes of this study, this generation will be referred to as “Baby Boomers” even though some of them may be younger than would generally fit into that designation.)

There were responses from North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The numbers of respondents outside of North America, however, were so small as to be statistically insignificant.

By Age
138 respondents fell into the group of less than or equal to 30 and are included herein as representing the Millennials.
333 respondents fell into the group of ages between 31 and 50 and are included herein as representing the GenXers.
250 respondents fell into the group of equal to or greater than 51 and are included herein as representing the Baby Boomers.

By Gender/Age
The respondent Millennials were 67 male (48.5%); 70 female (51.5%).
The respondent GenXers were 192 male (57.7%); 142 female (42.3%).
The respondent Baby Boomers were 154 male (61.5%); 96 female (38.5%)
Total count by gender** – Male: 413 (57.3%)      Female: 308 (42.7%)

**The respondent gender ratios are not equal to the national population gender ratios according to the 2010 U.S. Census which showed a male/female ratio of 50.8%/49.2%. This difference may be impacted by the fact that some respondents were from other countries/continents.

By education level
The respondent Millennials (138) level of education breakdown is:
High School only:    16.7%
Some college:           40.6%
Bachelor’s Degree:  31.1%
Master’s Degree:      10.9%
Doctorate +:               0.01%

The respondent GenXers (333) level of education breakdown is:
High School only:    8%
Some college:           32.7%
Bachelor’s Degree:  40.2%
Master’s Degree:      16.8%
Doctorate +:               2.1%

The respondent Baby Boomers (250) level of education breakdown is:
High School only:    11.2%
Some college:           36%
Bachelor’s Degree:  36.4%
Master’s Degree:      12.4%
Doctorate +:               4.4%

By veteran status
The percentage of veterans (or active duty) respondents in the Millennial group (138) is: 08.7%
The percentage of veterans (or active duty) respondents in the GenXers group (333) is: 20.4%
The percentage of veterans (or active duty) respondents in the Baby Boomers group (250) is: 26.8%

Taken or Participate in Self-Defense Training:
The percentage of Millennials that have taken or continue to participate in self-defense training is: 50.7%
The percentage of GenXers that have taken or continue to participate in self-defense training is: 68.2%
The percentage of Baby Boomers that have taken or continue to participate in self-defense training is: 67.6%

Perception & Definition of “Bullying”:
The respondents were asked to indicate what types of behaviors they considered “bullying” from a list of behaviors identified as such on the website stopbullying.gov. That list of bullying behaviors is:

• Name calling / insults
• Threats / Intimidation
• Spreading Rumors / Gossip
• Cyber harassment (any of the above three performed through cyber means)
• Shoving / Hitting / physical assault
• Homophobic comments
• Fighting
• Sexual comments / suggestions
• Exclusion / Leaving someone out
• Racist comments
• Damaging property / vandalism
• Stealing

Each respondent had to select which of those behaviors s/he considered “bullying.” The respondents’ answers were separated based on generational group and then counted.
What behaviors are included in “bullying?”
Name calling / insults (76.9%)
Millennials: 83.3%               GenXers: 74.2%                   Baby Boomers: 73.3%

Threats / Intimidation (95.5%)
Millennials: 94.9%               GenXers: 95.5%                   Baby Boomers: 96%

Spreading Rumors / Gossip (66.3%)
Millennials: 73.2%               GenXers: 64.6%                   Baby Boomers: 61.2%

Cyber Harassment (any of the above three committed via cyber means) (80.2%)
Millennials: 84.8%               GenXers: 78.1%                   Baby Boomers: 77.6%

Shoving / Hitting / Physical Assault (95.3%)
Millennials: 96.4%               GenXers: 95.2%                   Baby Boomers: 94.4%

Homophobic comments (69.7%)
Millennials: 77.5%               GenXers: 65.7%                   Baby Boomers: 66%

Fighting (68.5%)
Millennials: 69.6%               GenXers: 67.6%                   Baby Boomers: 68.4%

Sexual comments / suggestions (61.2%)
Millennials: 65.9%               GenXers: 55.3%                   Baby Boomers: 62.4%

Exclusion / Leaving someone out (54.6%)
Millennials: 66.7%               GenXers: 44.7%                   Baby Boomers: 52.4%

Racist Comments (73.2%)
Millennials: 83.3%               GenXers: 67%                      Baby Boomers: 69.2%

Damaging property / vandalism (69.3%)
Millennials: 76.1%               GenXers: 67.3%                   Baby Boomers: 64.4%

Stealing (49.9%)
Millennials: 60.9%               GenXers: 41.1%                   Baby Boomers: 47.6%

Perceived “Bullying” Victimization:
Each respondent was asked to identify which bullying behaviors they felt they had been victim of in their life. Each behavior is listed with the percentage of each generational group that identified having been a victim of it.

Name calling / insults (89.9%)
Millennials: 89.9%               GenXers: 92.2%                   Baby Boomers: 87.6%

Threats / Intimidation (68.5%)
Millennials: 65.9%               GenXers: 70%                      Baby Boomers: 69.6%

Spreading Rumors / Gossip (73.1%)
Millennials: 76.1%               GenXers: 77.2%                   Baby Boomers: 66%

Cyber harassment (any of the above three performed through cyber means) (23.6%)
Millennials: 40.6%               GenXers: 18.9%                   Baby Boomers: 11.2%

Shoving / Hitting / physical assault (53.9%)
Millennials: 42%                  GenXers: 59.2%                   Baby Boomers: 60.4%

Homophobic comments (12%)
Millennials: 14.5%               GenXers: 15.6%                   Baby Boomers: 6%

Fighting (43.2%)
Millennials: 31.9%               GenXers: 46.8%                   Baby Boomers: 50.8%

Sexual comments / suggestions (45%)
Millennials: 48.5%               GenXers: 45.6%                   Baby Boomers: 40.8%

Exclusion / Leaving someone out (62.7%)
Millennials: 68.8%               GenXers: 62.2%                   Baby Boomers: 57.2%

Racist comments (21.9%)
Millennials: 18.1%               GenXers: 24%                      Baby Boomers: 23.6%

Damaging property / vandalism (31.3%)
Millennials: 30.4%               GenXers: 33.9%                   Baby Boomers: 29.6%

Stealing (31.3%)
Millennials: 34.8%               GenXers: 32.4%                   Baby Boomers: 26.8%

None of the Above (2.5%)
Millennials: 2.2%                 GenXers: 3%                        Baby Boomers: 2.4%

Criminal Victimization Identified:
Each respondent was asked to identify which crime or attempted crime they felt they had been victim of in their life. Each crime is listed with the percentage of each generational group that identified having been a victim of it.

Assault and battery
Millennials: 25.4%               GenXers: 38.7%                   Baby Boomers: 40%

Armed robbery (weapon used to commit crime)
Millennials: 3.6%                 GenXers: 6.3%                     Baby Boomers: 6%

Attempted murder
Millennials: 1.4%                 GenXers: 5.4%                     Baby Boomers: 4.4%

Date Rape
Millennials: 9.4%                 GenXers: 9%                        Baby Boomers: 6.8%

Sexual assault (inappropriate touching)
Millennials: 34.1%               GenXers: 24%                      Baby Boomers: 20.8%

Sexual assault (any type of penetration)
Millennials: 13.8%               GenXers: 6.9%                     Baby Boomers: 9.6%

Strong arm robbery (no weapon involved)
Millennials: 0%                     GenXers: 3.3%                     Baby Boomers: 7.2%

Theft of property
Millennials: 43.5%               GenXers: 57.3%                   Baby Boomers: 59.6%

Vandalism of your property
Millennials: 41.3%               GenXers: 44.4%                   Baby Boomers: 41.6%

None of the Above
Millennials: 29%                  GenXers: 19.2%                   Baby Boomers: 16%

Fights and Motivations:
Each respondent was asked if they had ever been in a fight caused or instigated by a disagreement, someone calling them a name (or vice versa) or having been threatened. The answer options were YES or NO. The percentage of each generational group that answered YES is shown.

Millennials: 40.6%               GenXers: 56.2%                   Baby Boomers: 52%

Each respondent was asked if they had ever been in a fight while acting in self-defense or in defending themselves against an assault on their person. The answer options were YES or NO. The percentage of each generational group that answered YES is shown.

Millennials: 42%                  GenXers: 61.3%                   Baby Boomers: 65.6%

Each respondent was asked if they had ever been in a fight for the purpose of defending someone else. The answer options were YES or NO. The percentage of each generational group that answered YES is shown.

Millennials: 48.6%               GenXers: 60%                      Baby Boomers: 63.2%

Punished for “Justified” Fighting:
Each respondent was asked if they had ever been punished for being involved in a physical altercation (a “fight”) while acting in self-defense or defense of another. The answer options were YES or NO. The percentage of each generational group that answered YES to having been in a fight for either reason AND answered YES to having been punished for such is shown.

Millennials: 52.8%               GenXers: 39.3%                   Baby Boomers: 33.8%