Popularity Increases Student's Chance Of Getting Bullied

From MedlinePlus, "Popular Kids May Be Targets for Bullying: Study: Competition for social status could play a role, researchers say" by Robert Preidt:

It's well known that socially vulnerable teens -- such as those with delayed physical development, body-image issues or a lack of friends -- are at greater risk for being bullied. But these new findings suggest that many bullying victims don't fit the stereotype, said authors of the study, which appears in the April issue of the American Sociological Review.

"Most people probably would not think having a higher social status would increase the risk of being targeted, but with few exceptions, that's what we find," lead author Robert Faris, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Davis, said in a journal news release.***Students who climbed in popularity from the middle range to the 95th percentile had a more than 25 percent increased risk of being bullied.