Survey: Missouri ranks high in child 'bullying prevalence'

The personal finance site WalletHub, citing pre-pandemic figures obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, said the Show Me State ranks fourth — behind California, Wisconsin and Alaska — in the prevalence of in-school bullying or cyberbullying.

CDC reported its nationwide survey found 19% of students in grades nine through 12 said they were bullied on school property in the previous year and 14.9% of those high schoolers surveyed said they were cyberbullied.

WalletHub said it compiled data on prevalence and prevention of bullying in 47 states plus the District of Columbia using 20 metrics.

Among WalletHub's Missouri findings:

• Missouri tied for fifth (with Michigan) for the highest percentage of high school students bullied online.
• Missouri tied for 42nd (with Massachusetts and Maine) for the lowest percentage of high school students who missed school out of fear of being bullied.

WalletHub, noting the physical, emotional and psychological toll bullying takes on children, cited an Association for Psychological Science (APS) report on the practice's socioeconomic impact.

APS, according to WalletHub, said those who are bullies, victims of bullies or both -- are more likely to experience poverty, academic failure or job termination in adulthood than others.

Additionally, WalletHub reported schools "take a financial hit" from bullying, losing millions of dollars in attendance-based funding because of children staying home to avoid being abused.

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