The relationship between social problem-solving and bullying behaviour among male and female adult prisoners

The association between social problem solving and bullying behaviour among adult male and female prisoners is presented. A total of 210 male and 196 female prisoners were categorised into four groups: pure bullies, pure vict ims, bully/victims, and those not involved in bullying or victimisation. Pr isoners completed a questionnaire that presented them with different bullyi ng scenarios and were asked to suggest ways of dealing with each. Female bu lly/victims produced significantly more solutions in response to theft-rela ted bullying than male bully/victims. There were no further significant gro up or gender differences in the number of solutions generated. The bully gr oup favoured aggressive responses for all scenarios. Males reported more ag gressive responses than females. The results are discussed with reference t o the environment in which the social problem solving is taking place and h ighlights the importance of distinguishing between the different groups inv olved in bullying.