Victims of Bullying in Schools

• NCJ Number: 221593
• Journal: Acta Criminologica Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: 2004 Pages: 28-47
• Author(s): J. Neser; M. Ovens; E. van der Merwe; R. Morodi; A. Ladikos; J. Prinsloo
• Date Published: 2004
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: South Africa
• Note: Downloaded February 14, 2008. To access the full text PDF: 1) select the provided link; 2) from the Acta Criminologica Web site, select "Table of Contents"; 3) select the corresponding Volume and Issue (see the NCJRS abstract record for the exact Volume and Issue); 4) scroll the Table of Contents to the exact article; and 5) click on the "full text" icon

Annotation

Following a literature review of international research on bullying in schools, this article reports on a South African survey of a sample of students (n=1,873) in grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 in 9 primary, 8 secondary, and 2 special schools in 1 district, in order to determine the nature and extent of bullying at school; how students reacted to bullying; and whether bullying victims informed others of their victimization, and if so, the nature of the outcomes.

Abstract

A significant percentage of the sample (53.1 percent) reported they had been bullied during 2002. Those most likely to experience bullying were boys (58.2 percent), students under 15 years old (60.9 percent), students in grade six (67.3 percent) and grade seven (68.1 percent), White students (61.0 percent), and "Coloured" students (56.6 percent). Almost 40 percent of the sample indicated they were bullied frequently (once or twice a week or more often). Most of the bullying victims had experienced milder forms of bullying, such as name-calling (62.5 percent) and teasing (54.3 percent); however, the rate for direct physical assaults (being hit, kicked, or pushed) was alarming (44.3 percent). Just over half of the students in grades six and seven had experienced such bullying. The bullies who engaged in physical assault were most likely to be boys in the same class as the victims. Regarding reactions to bullying, victims were most likely to be angry (50.8 percent) or "sad and miserable" (47.7 percent). A disturbing finding was that almost 10 percent of respondents did not attend school once or twice or more because of bullying. Some of the victims had informed various people about being bullied, most often parents (49.8 percent) and friends (49.1 percent), followed by siblings (29.9 percent), and teachers or another adult at school (28.1 percent). Just over half received some assistance from those they told about the bullying. 11 tables and 17 references