Imitating Authority

Researchers and the public have devoted increasing attention over the past few years to the issue of school punishment and security. Racial disproportionality in school suspension and arrests at school and the resulting “school-to-prison pipeline” have been the most visible concerns. Others have questioned whether excessive school punishment might contribute to problems at school such as a negative school social climate, student alienation, and increased rates of student misbehavior. In this article, we contribute to the growing body of research on this topic by exploring whether students’ negative perceptions of school rules, punishments, and security practices relate to a previously unexplored potential consequence, that is, rates of bullying victimization. Using the 2009 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey, we find that students who perceive school rules as unfair and poorly communicated are indeed at greater risk of bullying victimization, relative to other students.