TY - JOUR
T1 - Bullying among Australian school children
T2 - Reported behavior and attitudes toward victims
AU - Rigby, Ken
AU - Slee, Phillip T.
PY - 1991/1/1
Y1 - 1991/1/1
N2 - The extent of bullying among Australian school children and attitudes toward victims of bullying were investigated in a survey of Australian school children between the ages of 6 and 16 years (n = 685) and their teachers (n = 32). Approximately 1 child in 10 was subjected to peer group bullying. Boys reported being bullied more often than girls, who tended to be more supportive of victims. With increasing age, there was a slight but significant decline in reported bullying; notably, however, attitudes toward victims became less supportive. Attitudes toward victims were examined in detail by using a reliable and validated 20-item Likert scale. Factor analyses of the children'S responses yielded three interpretable factors: a tendency to despise the victims of bullies; general admiration for school bullies; and avowed support for intervention to assist the victim. An understanding of such attitudes is desirable for designing effective intervention programs.
AB - The extent of bullying among Australian school children and attitudes toward victims of bullying were investigated in a survey of Australian school children between the ages of 6 and 16 years (n = 685) and their teachers (n = 32). Approximately 1 child in 10 was subjected to peer group bullying. Boys reported being bullied more often than girls, who tended to be more supportive of victims. With increasing age, there was a slight but significant decline in reported bullying; notably, however, attitudes toward victims became less supportive. Attitudes toward victims were examined in detail by using a reliable and validated 20-item Likert scale. Factor analyses of the children'S responses yielded three interpretable factors: a tendency to despise the victims of bullies; general admiration for school bullies; and avowed support for intervention to assist the victim. An understanding of such attitudes is desirable for designing effective intervention programs.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026236320&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00224545.1991.9924646
DO - 10.1080/00224545.1991.9924646
M3 - Article
C2 - 1798296
AN - SCOPUS:0026236320
SN - 0022-4545
VL - 131
SP - 615
EP - 627
JO - Journal of Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Social Psychology
IS - 5
ER -