Who do children tell when they are being bullied?

In a Scottish study, over 800 children from primary and secondary schools in North Lanarkshire and Aberdeenshire answered questions about bullying. It was found that most of the pupils (78%) who said they had been subjected to peer aggression (usually one-off aggressive behaviour) or bullying (repeated aggression) had told someone about it. It was found to be much more likely for girls to tell someone than boys. It was also more likely for primary school children to tell than secondary school children. When they asked for help children would most frequently turn to a family member, this was closely followed by turning to a friend. Of the three groups suggested, they indicated that they were least likely to tell a teacher.
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Article details

S Hunter, J M E Boyle and D Warden ( 2002) 'Help Seeking Amongst Child and Adolescent Victims of Peer-Aggression and Bullying: the influence of school-stage, gender, victimisation, appraisal and emotion'. Overheads from presentation at the BPS Developmental Section Conference at the University of Sussex, 5-8 September 2002. To obtain a copy of the overheads please contact Simon Hunter at the Department of Psychology at the University of Strathclyde. The Anti-Bullying Network at Edinburgh University has a reference copy.
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Author details

Simon Hunter is a PhD student and research assistant based in the Psychology Department at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He has published a number of papers on different aspects of bullying including coping strategies and help seeking. Simon may be contacted by email.
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