PATTERNS OF BULLY VICTIM PROBLEMS IN MIXED RACE GROUPS OF CHILDREN

This study investigated the extent of bullying within and between Brit ish Asian and White girls and boys (n = 156) and some of the reasons w hy it occurs. There was no significant difference in the percentage of peers that nominated Asian and White children as either bullies or vi ctims. Contrary to our prediction (derived from Taifel's social judgem ent theory), both Asian children and White children were significantly more likely to be named as bullies of same-race classmates than to be named as bullies of other-race classmates. Again contrary to our pred iction, for Asian boys and White boys there were no significant correl ations between general racial preferences/attitudes on the one hand, a nd the extent to which they were named by classmates as bullies of oth er-race children on the other hand. In order to investigate the types of bullying directed at own-race and other-race pupils, a subset of th e sample of children (n = 60) were also asked about the specific types of bullying they had experienced, and who was responsible. Some signi ficant racial differences emerged, most notably that proportionally mo re Asian children than White children reported that they had been teas ed about their colour or race by children of the other-race, and the o pposite was the case for non-racial types of teasing. The implications of these results for children's social development, and for school's attempts to remove bully/victim problems, are discussed. One recommend ation was that teasing, and especially racial teasing by racial majori ty pupils, should be a focus for intervention.