The Involvement of Girls and Boys with Bullying: An Analysis of Gender Differences

Abstract

This exploratory and cross-sectional study aimed to identify the prevalence of bullying in a group of students and analyze the data regarding the gender of those involved in the violence. A questionnaire adapted from Olweus was applied in seven elementary education schools in Portugal. The sample consisted of 387 students between 7 and 14 years old. Data are presented in terms of descriptive statistics and differences between proportions were analyzed using chi-square tests. The gender analysis of victimization and aggression shows that boys and girls are both victims and aggressors, and there are significant differences in involvement in bullying between genders and the roles played. Boys are victims more often when considering different types of bullying, although significant differences were only found for physical aggression. Strategies that include gender roles are a priority for prevention and careful attention to this phenomenon in the school context. The questions addressed contribute to a broader understanding of the phenomenon, emphasizing the differential participation of boys and girls in bullying.

Understanding the Correlates of Face-to-Face and Cyberbullying Victimization Among U.S. Adolescents: A Social-Ecological Analysis

“…Thus, practitioners working with victims of bullying in middle schools (e.g., school psychologists, counselors, and social workers) might assess students' social activities, both offline and online, and develop and implement a bully prevention training for students throughout their schooling as they move through grade levels. Moreover, because males are more prone to both face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying than females, practitioners need to implement strategies that consider gender relations as a priority for prevention and intervention in bullying situations (Silva, Pereira, Mendonca, Nunes, & de Oliveira, 2013). As our findings also indicate, adolescents who spent more hours on social media were at an increased risk of both face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying.…”

Harassment and Bullying among Students in Higher Education Institutions: Manifestation of Single Cases of Harassment and Bullying in Aspects of Demographic Variables

“…However, comparison of such results with the results of other authors is complicated because the researches point out discrepant results. Though many researchers state that boys of different age should be considered as being at risk for involvement in bullying both as bullies, and as victims (Smith, 2016;Jormanainen et al, 2014;Iossi Silva et al, 2013;etc. ), other researches tend to distinguish girls as the ones more often suffering from bullying (Malecki et al, 2015;Schneider et al, 2012).…”

Validación del Cuestionario Breve de Victimización Escolar por Pares en México

“…A partir de lo anterior, los puntos de corte fueron proporcionados tomando en consideración tanto el sexo como el nivel educativo, debido a que son variables que influyen en la prevalencia de la expresión de victimización entre pares en ambientes escolares (Barlett y Coyne, 2014;Chapell et al, 2006;Iossi Silva, Pereira, Mendonça, Nunes, y Oliveira, 2013;Sentse, Kretschmer, y Salmivalli, 2015). Los puntos de corte se utilizaron para ofrecer un diagnóstico breve y normativo de conductas de victimización por pares en el ambiente escolar, por lo que se reportan las prevalencias según estos puntos de corte.…”