Does age make a difference?

A large study of school children in Norway in the1980s found that bullying in school decreases with age. What also came out in the study was that there was less use of physical bullying in later years. Another finding was that a great amount of bullying was carried out by older students rather than pupils in the same year. Being bullied by an older student was particularly common for the youngest victims in the study (8 and 9 years old). More than half of these had been bullied by older children.
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Article details

D Olweus (1999) 'Norway', in P K Smith et al (editor) 'The Nature of School Bullying: a cross-national perspective', London: Routledge.
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Graph details

'Percentage of students in different grades who reported being bullied (being exposed to direct bullying) (n for boys = 42,390; n for girls = 40,940)' from Olweus article above, figure 2.1, page 33.

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Author details

Professor Dan Olweus was the first person to carry out a thorough research project on bullying. This large, long term study which began in Sweden in 1970, was to provide the inspiration for many who felt that bullying in schools should be challenged rather than accepted. Since the 1970s, his work in this area had continued with force. Indeed, in 1997-99, he led a group in a large project which introduced the widely respected Olweus (anti-bullying) programme to schools in Norway. Professor Olweus is based at the Research Centre for Health Promotion, University of Bergen in Norway and can be contacted by email.
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