What do pupils do when they are bullied?

An English study in the 1990s which looked at bullying in 25 secondary schools found that when bullied, the most common reaction of children (over 50%) was to stand up to (but not fight) the bully. The next most common reaction (37%) was to tell someone. It was found that boys were more likely than girls to fight in response to bullying, whereas girls were more likely than boys to tell a member of staff. According to their answers, children are less likely to tell as they become older and are more likely to attempt to deal with it themselves. Indeed it was found that they were twice as likely to fight in year 11 as in year 7. Almost a quarter said that they would deal with bullying by trying to avoid the place where it had occurred, while sadly, 16% said they would remain silent and do nothing.
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Article details

D Glover, G Gough, M Johnstone and N Cartwright (2000) 'Bullying in 25 Secondary Schools: incidence, impact and intervention', in 'Educational Research', Volume 42 Number 2, Summer.
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