Is bullying in Scotland the same as in other countries?

Key statement

There have only been a few studies of bullying in Scotland. One of these studies does compare the situation in Scottish schools to that in two other countries.
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Comment

Direct comparisons of levels of bullying between different countries are difficult for two reasons. Firstly, it is almost impossible to guarantee that exactly the same measurement technique is used in all situations. Differences in the education systems across the world mean that some modification to a research method is usually needed when it is used in another country. Secondly, language differences mean that questionnaire items may be interpreted and understood in different ways in different places. Many languages (for example French) have no direct translation of the English word 'bullying'.

What seems to be emerging, however, is that bullying is a universal phenomenon and that there are far more similarities between the levels and patterns of bullying in different countries than differences.
(Andrew Mellor)
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Do you want to find out more?

More 1 - 1989 Scottish study
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