Types of bullying behaviour and their correlates

Björkqvist, Lagerspetz, and Kaukiainen [(1992): Aggressive Behavior 18: 117–127] suggested that there are significant differences in the types of aggressive behaviour–direct physical, direct verbal, and indirect-engaged in and experienced by boys and girls of different ages. This study reports on similar age and sex differences in the types of bullying behaviour found in British schools, based on a survey of 7,000 primary and secondary school pupils. It further relates these types of bullying to where victims were bullied, who bullied them, and whether an adult was told about bullying. Our analyses focused on whether age and sex differences characteristically found for these latter items could be explained by differences in types of bullying, or whether other factors were responsible. We also compare Olweus' measure of indirect bullying with our own.