More than half of P.E.I. residents have been bullied: survey

Just over one-half of Prince Edward Island residents report having experienced bullying in their lifetime, say the results of a recent survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc.

To better understand the prevalence in P.E.I., residents were asked when, if at all, they last experienced bullying.

Overall, just 55 per cent of Islanders report having been bullied, with three in 10 (28 per cent) having most recently experienced bullying within the last five years. A similar number of residents (27 per cent) most recently experienced a bullying incident five years ago or more. Meanwhile, just over four in 10 residents said they have never been bullied.

“It is perhaps not unexpected that so many adults across the region have been bullied at one time or another,” said Don Mills of Corporate Research Associates. “What is surprising is the higher incidence of bullying experienced by younger adults relative to their older counterparts.”

Across Atlantic Canada, the likelihood of experiencing bullying in P.E.I. is similar to that of Nova Scotia (58 per cent) but is slightly higher than that of Newfoundland and Labrador (47 per cent), and New Brunswick (45 per cent). Across the population of the Island, residents under 35 were more likely than their older counterparts to have experienced bullying within the last five years.