Bullying in Childhood

[Page 268]Bullying has received a lot of attention in recent years as a serious social problem with harsh consequences for many children and adolescents, including depression and suicide. Bullying occurs across ethnicities and across age- and grade groups among children and adolescents across the United States as well as internationally. Bullying occurs in all genders, albeit oftentimes in different ways. Cyberbullying has become another vehicle for bullying among children who frequently use social media and electronic devices to communicate with each other. This entry examines some of the theories used to explain bullying and cyberbullying among boys and girls, as well as children exhibiting nonconformist gender behaviors and those who identify as transgender.