California topped the list at No. 1 for the U.S. state with the biggest bullying problems, according to a new report published on National Stop Bullying Day in the country, which falls on the second Wednesday in October.
The report from the personal finance website WalletHub.com measured the prevalence and prevention of bullying in 47 states and the District of Columbia by examining 20 key metrics, ranging from the bullying-incident rate to truancy costs for schools to the share of high school students bullied online.
The top five states with the worst bullying problems in the country were California, Alaska, Nevada, New Jersey and Louisiana, said the report, noting that about 20 percent of students ages from 12 to 18 experience bullying, whether in-person, online or both.
The report pointed out that besides the physical, emotional and psychological tolls it takes on victims, bullying produces adverse socioeconomic outcomes.
The report added that those who are bullies, victims or both are more likely to experience poverty, academic failure and job termination in their adulthood than those who were neither, citing a research by the Association for Psychological Science, an international non-profit organization.
In addition, the affected individuals are more likely to commit crime and to abuse drugs and alcohol, according to the report.
