Does age make a difference?

A survey of school children in Strathclyde (in Scotland), showed differences between bullying in primary and secondary school. Twice as many primary as secondary school pupils were affected by bullying. When asked how often bullying occurred, more primary pupils reported that they were bullied often, daily and over years. Anxiety about break time was also higher in primary, with only one in two primary pupils saying they had no concern about breaks. More primary pupils also said that they had been put off their work as a result of bullying. Despite this, more primary than secondary pupils said that they were satisfied with the way their school handled bullying.
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Article details

A McLean (1997) 'Bullyproofing Our School: what do the pupils think?', Topic 2, Issue 17, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). This article can be viewed here.
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Author details

At the time of this study, Alan McLean was Principal Psychologist based at the Education Department Psychological Service in the former Strathclyde Regional Council. His particular interests in the area of bullying include: links between bullying and motivation; the thinking processes and self-esteem of the bully.

He can be contacted at by email.
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