Costa Rica is second in Latin America in school bullying with almost 11% of children claimed to have been victim of according to the PISA report conducted in 2015 by this body. The data was revealed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
On average across OECD countries, around 11% of students reported that they are frequently (at least a few times per month) made fun of, 7% reported that they are frequently left out of things, and 8% reported that they are frequently the object of nasty rumors in school. More than 10% of students in 34 out of 53 countries and economies reported that their peers make fun of them at least a few times per month.
In Latin America, in the ‘Index of exposure to bullying’, Costa Rica scored a 0.10. Colombia had the highest score with a 0.16.
A similar proportion of students in 13 of 53 countries and economies reported that others frequently leave them out of things, while in 16 out of 53 countries and economies, more than 10% of students of students reported that they are frequently the object of nasty rumors.
The phenomenon does not remain at the grade and high school level and covers other contexts, among them, technical schools and universities.
On average across OECD countries, boys were more likely than girls to report being victims of all forms of bullying.
Among the most common types of bullying is verbal aggression, which according to the psychologist Sonia Chinchilla of the Department of Counseling and Psychology of the TEC, located in Cartago, has filtered into Costa Rican culture. Chinchilla especially highlights the treatment between Costa Rican men, where bullying occurs frequently.
“There are things that seem normal in the culture that are not (…) When the pressure is from a group, bullying is much stronger and has different effects,” said Chinchilla.
Sources: TEC.ac.cr (in Spanish); OECD.org
