Data and Code for: The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Andrew Bacher-Hicks, Boston University; Joshua Goodman, Boston University; Jennifer Greif Green, Boston University; Melissa K. Holt, Boston University

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
  code 01/31/2022 03:09:PM
  data 12/10/2021 10:44:AM
  paper 12/10/2021 10:44:AM
README.pdf application/pdf 130.7 KB 01/31/2022 10:08:AM

Project Citation: 

Bacher-Hicks, Andrew, Goodman, Joshua, Green, Jennifer Greif, and Holt, Melissa K. Data and Code for: The COVID-19 Pandemic Disrupted Both School Bullying and Cyberbullying. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2022. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-08-31. https://doi.org/10.3886/E156901V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary One-fifth of U.S. high school students report being bullied each year. We use internet search data for real-time tracking of bullying patterns as COVID-19 disrupted in-person schooling. We first show that, pre-pandemic, internet searches contain useful information about actual bullying behavior. We then show that searches for school bullying and cyberbullying dropped 30-35 percent as schools shifted to remote learning in spring 2020. The gradual return to in-person instruction starting in fall 2020 partially returns bullying searches to pre-pandemic levels. This rare positive effect may partly explain recent mixed evidence on the pandemic's impact on students' mental health and well-being.

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Covid-19; Pandemic; School Bullying; Cyberbullying; Google Trends
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      I20 Education and Research Institutions: General
      I28 Education: Government Policy
      I31 General Welfare; Well-Being
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 2016 – 2021
Collection Date(s):  View help for Collection Date(s) 2021 – 2021
Universe:  View help for Universe All Google users in the United States.
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) aggregate data; other; survey data

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source Google Trends, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Burbio School Opening Tracker.
Unit(s) of Observation:  View help for Unit(s) of Observation U.S. States by Month
Geographic Unit:  View help for Geographic Unit U.S. States

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Published Versions

V1 [2022-08-31]

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