What do pupils do when they are bullied?

A Scottish study involving over 16,000 pupils found that a number of different ways were used by children to try to stop being bullied. According to the study the most successful way was to make up with the bullies (if they had fallen out), followed closely by making friends with them. When children were asked what they thought had helped most to stop the bullying, the top three ways (in order) were: standing up to the bully, ignoring them and showing that the bullying was not having any effect. Boys were far more likely than girls to think that hitting the bully back was the most successful approach, (in fact this was the most common answer of boys), while far more girls than boys thought that answering back worked.
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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 obtained from NFER at a cost of £3.
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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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