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Bullying in schools: self reported anxiety, depression, and self esteem in secondary school children

British Medical Journal, Oct 3, 1998 by G. Salmon, A. James, D.M. Smith

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Boys in year 8 in school A with high anxiety and lying scores were most likely to be bullied. Girls in year 9 in school B with low anxiety and lying scores were least likely to be bullied. Boys in year 10 with low anxiety and lying scores and high depression scores were most likely to be bullies. Girls in year 8 with high anxiety and lying scores and low depression scores were least likely to be bullies.

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Bullied children tend to be in the lower school years. The low prevalence of bullying (4.2%) may reflect the effectiveness of bullying interventions already in place in the two schools. Our data support the idea that bullied children are more anxious and bullies equally or less anxious than their peers.[2] New findings from the study are the relation between having a high lying score and being bullied and having a high depression score and being a bully. The male to female ratio of bullies (3:1) is lower than that previously reported (4:1).[2] This may indicate that bullying interventions are having more of an impact on the direct bullying characteristic of boys and less on the indirect bullying more common among girls.

Our results should be viewed with caution because our study is small, but they suggest factors that could be important.

Contributors: GS and AJ initiated the study and designed the protocol. GS collected and collated the data. DS performed the analyses. GS, AJ, and DS interpreted the results, discussed their meaning, and wrote the article. AJ is the guarantor for the study.

Funding: Oxfordshire Health Services Research Fund.

Conflict of interest: None.

[1] Smith PK, Sharp S, eds. School bullying: insights and perspectives. London: Routledge, 1994.

[2] Olweus D. Bullying at school: basic facts and effects of a school based intervention program. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 1994;35:1171-90.

[3] Angold A, Costello EJ, Messer SC, Pickles A, Winder F, Silver D. Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents, Int J Methods Psychiatric Res 1995;5:136.1-13.

[4] Reynolds CR, Richmond BO. What I think and feel: a revised measure of children's manifest anxiety. J Abnormal Child Psychology 1978;6:271-80.

[5] Rosenberg M. Conceiving the self. New York: Basic Books, 1986.

(Accepted 13 May 1998)

Highfield Adolescent Unit, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX

G Salmon, senior registrar in child and adolescent psyochiatry

A James, consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry

continued over

BMJ 1998;317:924-5

Centre for Statistics in Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Oxford OX3 7LF D M Smith, senior medical statistician

Correspondence to: Dr James TonyJames@oxmhc-tr. anglox.nhs.uk

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Bullying in schools: self reported anxiety, depression, and self esteem in secondary school children

British Medical Journal, Oct 3, 1998 by G. Salmon, A. James, D.M. Smith

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