Anti-Bullying research summary part 1: prevalence and inequalities
This winter we are shining our spotlight on ‘Anti-Bullying’
The #BeeWell data unlocks the opportunity for schools and communities to understand more about bullying.
We can use #BeeWell and other data to find out more about:
- Prevalence: how many young people are bullied?
- Inequalities: who is more or less likely to be bullied?
- Outcomes: what is the impact of being bullied?
- Interventions: how can we all prevent or reduce bullying?
#BeeWell data is just one part of the puzzle of understanding young people’s experiences, but is a helpful tool for gaining insights at scale.
prevalence of and inequalities in bullying. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or comprehensive review of the available evidence; instead, it provides illustrative examples of what we know.
Read our research summary blog about outcomes and interventions here.
What do we mean by bullying?
When we talk about bullying, we mean acts of social aggression that are carried out with the intention to cause harm to the victim, are repeated over time, and involve an either perceived or an actual imbalance of power that favours the perpetrator(s).
A distinction is often made between relational (e.g. calling names, or leaving the victim out of games), physical (e.g. hitting the victim) and cyber (e.g. that carried out via digital media, such as posting negative online content about the victim) forms of bullying (Thornton, Panayiotou & Humphrey, 2024).
Prevalence: how many young people are bullied?
Some studies have examined the prevalence of bullying among young people. Research using the #BeeWell dataset revealed that the proportion of those aged 12-15 who are exposed to bullying depends on the type being considered. Relational bullying was the most common (12%), and cyber-bullying was the least common (5%).
Collectively, approximately 16% of young people reported experiencing one or more forms of bullying (Thornton, Panayiotou & Humphrey, 2024). Recent analysis of international data shows that the UK has the second highest rates of bullying among 15 year-olds across 27 European countries (Marquez, 2024a [chapter 3]).
Inequalities: Who is more or less likely to be bullied?
Some studies examine the factors (e.g. parenting behaviours) and characteristics (e.g. ethnicity) that are associated with likelihood of exposure to bullying.
- A #BeeWell study found that LGBTQ+ young people (compared to cisgender heterosexual males), those with special educational needs (compared to those without), younger students (compared with older students), and those from more disadvantaged neighbourhoods (compared to more advantaged neighbourhoods) were consistently more likely to be bullied than their peers. Cisgender heterosexual girls (compared to cisgender heterosexual boys) and ethnic minority groups (compared to those of a White ethnicity) were also found be at increased risk, but this depended on the type of bullying being considered (Thornton, Panayiotou & Humphrey, 2024).
- Another #BeeWell study found that trans and gender diverse (TGD) young people reported significantly higher rates of bullying than cisgender boys. The study also found that cisgender girls also reported higher rates of bullying, but the size of difference was less noteworthy than that identified for TGD young people (Black et al, 2023). It should also be noted that other some studies have actually found that boys report higher rates of bullying than girls (Marquez, 2024b).
- A review of the published literature on parenting behaviour and bullying found that victims of bullying were more likely to experience negative parenting behaviours, including abuse, neglect, and maladaptive parenting, than their non-bullied peers. Additionally, victims were more likely to have overprotective parents. Protective factors included effective communication between parents and children, warm and affectionate relationships, parental involvement and support, and parental supervision (Lereya, Samara & Wolke, 2013).
- Another study found that reports of family adversity during pregnancy (such as financial problems, substance abuse, or criminal involvement), partner conflict, and maladaptive parenting significantly heightened the risk of children becoming victims of bullying (Lereya & Wolke, 2012).
- One study found that receiving support from classmates was related to lower frequency of bullying (Humphrey & Symes, 2010).
- There is some evidence of a ‘cumulative risk’ effect. In other words, the more of the risk factors and characteristics that apply for a given young person, the more likely they are to experience bullying (Hebron, Oldfield, & Humphrey, 2017).
