Research has long shown that bullying can lead to emotional and behavioral problems in children and youth. Recent research has also found that bullying can negatively affect the mental health of victims into adulthood ( Social Psychology of Education, 2016 ) .

Bullying is pervasive. Youth with disabilities are especially at high risk. Recent research also has found the following: There is no single cause of bullying, aggressive youths have high perceptions of themselves, bullies do not target others randomly, bystanders also suffer ( Juvonen & Graham, 2014 ). With this in mind, students need to be educated about bullying and provided with multiple means of seeking help for it, with a prompt and thorough investigation of suspected or reported bullying