Bullying and victimization of primary school children in England and Germany: Prevalence and school factors

Differences in definitions and methodologies for assessing bullying in prim ary school children between countries have precluded direct comparisons of prevalence rates and school factors related to bullying. A total of 2377 ch ildren in England (6-year-olds/Year 2: 1072; 8-year-olds/Year 4: 1305) and 1538 in Germany (8-year-olds/Year 2) were questioned individually using an identical standard interview. In both countries the types of bullying to vi ctimize others were similar: boys were most often perpetrators, most bullie s were also victims (bully/victims), most bullying occurred in playgrounds and the classroom, and SES and ethnicity only showed weak associations with bullying behaviour. Major differences were found in victimization rates wi th 24% of English pupils becoming victims every week compared with only 8% in Germany. In contrast, fewer boys in England engaged every week in bullyi ng (2.5-4.5%) than German boys (7.5%), while no differences were found betw een girls. In England, children in smaller classes were more often victimiz ed. Further study of the group of bully/victims, schooling differences in E ngland vs. Germany and implications for prevention of bullying are discusse d.