Gender Differences in Bullying Experiences and Attitudes to Social Relationships in High School Students

Abstract

The study examines gender differences in the self reports of students as bullies or victims and their attitudes to social relationships within the school. Students were drawn from Year 8 in seven New South Wales rural high schools. Differences were found in the overall level of bullying behaviour of males and females and in the type of bullying and in the gender of the victim targeted by boys and girls. Differences in the patterns of reports between bullies and victims were greater for cross-gender than same-gender bullying. Attitudes to bullying and social confidence varied between bullies, victims and other students. Female and male bullies differed from non-bullies in their attitudes to bullying whereas victims, especially males, were marked by a particularly strong rejection of bullying and a low level of social acceptance and confidence. The implications of these findings for classroom and whole school policy are examined.