Popularity at School Can Lower Risks of Being Bullied

Researchers have found a solution to prevent the episodes of bullying at school, being kind. 

According to a new study, performing kind acts can help teens and children achieve the goal easily. Apart from that, children who involve in kind activities were found to be happier than others.

A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of California, Riverside, examined the factors that influenced a child's status among his/her peers. They looked at 400 students aged between nine and 12.

The group was divided into two halfs. One group was asked to engage in kind acts, like sharing their lunch with someone. The other group was asked to visit pleasant places like a shopping center or grandparent's house.

After one month, researchers recorded children's mental status, including the happiness they felt after involving in these activities. Popularity among peers was analyzed by asking students to mention the name of a classmate they would like to work with. Engaging in kind activities was found as increasing a student's popularity among peers.

"We show that kindness has some real benefits for the personal happiness of children but also for the classroom community," Schonert-Reichl, a professor in UBC's Faculty of Education, who was involved in the study, said in a news release.

Authors also noted popularity among peers as lowering the risks of being bullied at school, and urged teachers to conduct some pro-social activities for strengthening the relationship among classmates.

"Increasing peer acceptance is a critical goal related to a variety of important academic and social outcomes, including reduced likelihood of being bullied," a EurekAlert press release quoted the authors. "The findings suggest that a simple and relatively brief prosocial activity can increase liking among classmates. Given the relationship between peer acceptance and many social and academic outcomes, we think these findings have important implications for the classroom."

The findings come at a time when about 70 percent of middle and high school students become victims of bullying, every year.

The study is published in PLOS ONE.