Bullying in Guimarães Schools: Types of Bullying and Gender Differences

Abstract

Introduction: School  bullying is the most common type of violence in schools and seems to be increasing in recent years. The various types of aggression and victimization by bullying occur with different frequencies depending on the gender of the students.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of different types of victimization and aggression by bullying among participating public school students of Guimarães. To compare  frequencies of victimization and aggression by bullying between female and male students.

Study Design: Observational and cross-sectional study.

Methods: An equal number of classes of the 6th and 8th grade in public schools was selected in the municipality of Guimarães, Portugal. The students autonomously completed a questionnaire with demographic information and the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale adapted to Portugal. Descriptive  and  analytical  statistical  techniques were used to analyze the data. Bullying was considered in relation with colleagues, 2 or more episodes of maltreatment in the previous month.

Results: 660 students were evaluated, ranging from 11 to 16 years of age, 48.8% of 6 th  year, 48.8% female, recruited from ten of the fourteen schools in the county. Seventy-one percent of students (78.1% of boys and 64.0% of girls) declared themselves directly involved in bullying behaviors, as authors or targets. By type, the prevalence was 61.2% verbal, 36.8% social, 24.8% physical and 22.9% involved in property-related bullying. The most common types reported by victims, of both male and female genders, were the verbal (54.0% and 41.3%, respectively; 48.4% of total student body) and social (26.7% and 30.1%, respectively; 28.8% of total students). In the aggressors, verbal and physical bullying types in boys (respectively 44.5% and 25.5%) and verbal and social in girls (28.3% and 9.3%) were the most common. When considering the total sample, the most  common  types  of aggression in were verbal and physical (36.6% and 15.3%, respectively). Male  students  were  more  often directly involved in bullying behaviors. With the exception of social bullying, boys were more likely to be victims of all types, as well as being physical and verbal abusers. Significant differences were found in the proportions of victims and perpetrators among schools, age groups and schooling years.

Conclusion: Only 28.8% of students denied direct  involvement  in bullying. We have found several significantly different bullying behaviors between genders, but not in every school, age group or grade. These data indicates that genetic factors may not be important, and that action should focus on other aspects. The study of the factors that influence the differences in types of bullying behaviors  may  allow the identification of violent situations in order to prevent them.