The Process for Creating a Uniform Definition of Bullying

Bullying is one type of violence that threatens youths’ well-being. The impacts of bullying are felt by individuals, families, schools, and society and may result in youth feeling powerless, intimidated, and humiliated. Bullying occurs in many settings such as schools, after-school programs, or in a youth’s neighborhood. It emerges from an interaction of complex factors related to individual characteristics of youth, relationships with their peers and adults, and school or community norms.

Beginning in 2008 with the formation of the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Steering Committee, six federal agencies have worked together to provide effective and consistent federal guidance on bullying. Discussions over the past several years have focused on the need to create a uniform definition of bullying. The 2011 CDC publication of assessment tools used to measure bullying among youth (Hamburger, Basile, & Vivolo, 2011) revealed inconsistent definitions of bullying and diverse measurement strategies that make it difficult to compare the prevalence of bullying and other findings across studies (Vivolo, Holt, & Massetti, 2011). The lack of a uniform definition hinders our ability to understand the true magnitude, scope, and impact of bullying and track trends over time.

The definition and guidance document (“Uniform Definitions Document”) is designed as a tool to help organizations, researchers, evaluators, community groups, educators, and public health officials define and gather systematic data on bullying. It is intended to improve the consistency and comparability of data collected on bullying so that these data can be used to better inform research, prevention, and response efforts. Development of the Uniform Definitions Document was a collaborative process between the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) with extensive feedback and assistance from external researchers and practitioners working to prevent bullying in schools and communities.