Sharan Mirchandani, SBH HEALTH SYSTEM, Bronx, NY, United States; David Rubin, CUNY School of Medicine, new rochelle, NY, United States; Janine Adjo, SBH Health System, Bronx, NY, United States; Jasmine Jackson, SBH Health System, Bronx, NY, United States; Chinonso Asinugo, SBH Health Systems, Bronx, NY, United States
Resident physician SBH HEALTH SYSTEM Bronx, New York, United States
Background: Bullying is a pervasive public health issue, causing trauma and significant psychological distress. Effects on victims include physical injury, issues with concentration, symptoms like nausea/anorexia, features of anxiety or depression, reduced self-esteem, and increased rates of school absence. In 2019, 22% of students 12–18 years of age reported being bullied at school during the school year and 16% of students in grades 9–12 reported being electronically bullied during the previous 12 months.Due to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly from March 2020-Sept 2021, there was reduced ability to monitor bullying behaviors and provide support for victims. Since the majority of students were attending classes virtually, bullying may have been expressed in online meetings or digital platforms Objective: To investigate the pattern of bullying (pre-remote learning vs remote learning) in school age children in an urban setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/Methods: Cross-sectional study of children aged 9-18 years, from April 2021 to January 2022. All subjects completed questionnaires assessing patterns of bullying. Demographic data included age, gender, and ethnicity. Results: 180 subjects participated in the study. 60% were Hispanic and 56.7% were male. The mean age was 13.8± 2.8 yrs. 8.9% (n=16) of children reported being bullied pre-remote learning, with a majority (62.5%) reporting more than 1 type of bullying (physical + verbal). There was no cyber bullying reported in this group. 3.3%(n=6) of children reported being bullied after school closure, with a majority (66.7%, n=4) reporting cyber bullying. 2.2% (n=4) of children reported no bullying after schools reopened. 50% (n=2) of this group had been cyber bullied, but 24.4% had not returned to school at the time of answering the questionnaire. 55.6% (n=100) said they would continue virtual classes.Fear of being bullied was expressed in only 2%. 80% of these students expressed the desire to attend virtual classes half of the time.
Conclusion(s): Few school age children reported any changes in bullying during remote learning and after returning to school. A majority of students expressed the preference to continue virtual learning.
