Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short-and long-term effects on children's psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999; Ttofi and Farrington, Aggressive Behav 34(4):352-368, 2008). Entering kindergarten is a crucial developmental step in many children's lives mainly because it is within this context where they participate, for the first time, as members in a stable peer group and well-organized team activities. Consequently, preschool may be the first context beyond the home environment where children's difficulties in social interactions with peers can be primarily detected and assessed by adults and professionals. This paper reviews recent empirical evidence over the nature and different aspects of bullying among preschool children. Recent findings concerning the development of preschool bullying and its prevalence, family and genetic factors, gender and age differences, participant and peripheral roles, school context, methodological issues, and prevention policies are reviewed while directions for future research are addressed.Bullying in schools has been identified as a serious and complex worldwide problem associated with negative short-and long-term effects on children's psychosocial adjustment (Smith 1999;Ttofi and Farrington 2008). Most of the research undertaken for studying bullying in schools has emphasized on middle childhood and adolescence, while there is scarce empirical evidence concerning the manifestation and development of the problem in early childhood years (

Studies addressing the issue of bullying during the preschool period are still extremely rare. The main aim of the present research was to study the prevalence rates of bullying in preschool children using a multimethod approach. Participants were 167 preschool children (ages 4–6) and 8 classroom teachers. Measures were four forms of bullying: verbal, physical, and relational bullying and rumour spreading. Data were collected through peer nominations, self- and teacher reports, and natural observations. Results have shown that the frequencies of bullying episodes vary greatly according to the source of information. Moreover, agreement between informants was either nonsignificant or moderate. This is extremely important when conducting relevant empirical research with preschool populations. It is probable that inconsistent results obtained in previous research may be due to the selection of one or another source of information. It is of primary importance to design methodological tools that are both valid and reliable if prevention programs against victimisation are to be consistent and effective.

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