Baby Bullies

The National Institutes of Health says that 16 percent of kids in middle school and junior high - one of every six children - are victims of bullying each year. When does it start? Social scientists say that aggression is an inborn trait; we're ALL baby bullies. According to new research from Wichita State University in Kansas, kindergarten students verbally and physically harass each other once every three to six minutes. Generations ago, aggression may have been a survival skill, but today, "If that pattern is not stopped, then that person is highly likely to become a criminal," says Jeff Sprague, Ph.D. He is co-director of the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior at the University of Oregon. "So we do very much see the early roots of these problems in very young children," he says. For victims, the future is also bleak. The American Medical Association says they suffer more depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide later in life. And, according to the U.S. Secret ...