At the second presidential debate, Hillary Clinton introduced the idea of a "Trump effect," in which Donald Trump's presence on the national stage has influenced the behavior of school children for the worse. "Bullying is up," she said, referencing anecdotal evidence from teachers and parents. "A lot of people are feeling uneasy, a lot of kids are expressing their concerns."
Now Clinton has proposed a $500 million anti-bullying initiative to fund a 10-year program in American schools. She described the plan Thursday as a "major new effort to help states and communities and schools and families end bullying wherever it takes place," again making the point that "teachers have reported that this election has made it worse."
The trouble is there's no hard evidence the "Trump effect" exists. Supporters of Clinton's initiative are citing a Southern Poverty Law Center survey of teachers that found Trump is generating "an alarming level of fear and anxiety among children of color," but the survey wasn't scientific: It was a poll of teachers already on SPLC's email list and its website visitors, hardly a representative sample of America's educators.
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However, about 3,000 therapists have signed a "manifesto" claiming Trump has engendered anxiety among their patients, and one national poll found 43 percent of voters said Trump has caused them emotional distress. As for bullying rates specifically, scientifically sound data for 2016 won't be available from the National Center for Education Statistics until 2018.
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