Young People & Emotional Health and Well-being Incorporating Bullying 1983-2003 from Trends report

• There was no overall trend in the figures (1995-2003) relating to those 12-15 year olds feeling afraid to go to school because of bullying
• The 12-13 year old females, more often than the other groups, admit to feeling afraid ‘sometimes’. The percentages have remained consistent with around 28% regularly choosing this option
• Figures from the 14-15 year old females and 12-13 year old males have remained closely related over the years (1995-2003). Around 22% report concern over bullying ‘sometimes’. Again these numbers drop to around 3% for both the ‘often’ and ‘very often’ options
• There was no overall trend in the figures (1997-2003) relating to the 10-11 year olds in the sample and up to 75% of the males and 65% of the females had ‘never felt afraid of going to school because of bullying’
• The 10-11 year old females, more often than the males, consistently reporedt feeling afraid ‘sometimes’. The percentages have remained similar ranging from 30% (1997 & 2001) to 36% (1998 & 1999) with around 32% in recent years choosing this option
• The majority of 10-11 year old pupils reported being bullied ‘often/every day’ during school hours and at free times, ie. outside and inside at playtime and lunchtime.
  

Overweight, being bullied and self-esteem from 2006 'SHEU views the news"

• We have been seeing in our primary school surveys a proportion of young people who think they are being picked on or bullied because of their size or weight. We don't usually ask this same question in the secondary surveys, but we do ask what are the pupil's height and weight, and from this we can identify overweight, obese and underweight young people.
  We also ask these secondary school pupils if they are ever afraid to go to school because of bullying.
  
  Here are some results from Year 8 males (aged 12-13y):
  Do you ever feel afraid to go to school because of bullying? (At least sometimes)
  Underweight 28%
  Normal weight 24%
  Overweight 28%
  Obese 34%
  
  Sure enough, heavier pupils are more likely to be bullied. When we looked at older pupils and among results for girls, overweight and especially obese pupils were again more likely to fear bullying. We have known for a long while that the fear of bullying at school is associated with low self-esteem; it may be that the low self-esteem developed through living with extra weight in a culture obsessed with physical appearance can be a trigger for subsequent bullying.
  
• We also looked in our large databanks for links between reports of bullying and possible measures of the effect of bullying, like self-esteem. It came as no surprise to discover that levels of self esteem and experience of being bullied are linked This is a very striking and an enormously powerful piece of evidence for professionals thinking about young people's experiences of bullying. However, it is still not obvious what might be causing this association:
  • Does the experience of being bullied reduce your self-esteem? This is the natural interpretation, but also:
  • Do bullies select as their victims pupils with low self-esteem?
  • Is it only the young people with low self-esteem who fear the bullying that many may experience?

Bullying extracts from 'Young People in 2004' 650kb pdf

Young people that fear going to school - published in 1996

This is from one of a series of monographs about young people's lifestyles, compiled from data collected in 1995 using the Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire.
More than 11,000 young people aged 11-16 contributed to the data, but the report concentrates on a group of 5489 Year 8 pupils, age 12-13.

The most important single finding of our research is:

A QUARTER OF THE BOYS AND A THIRD OF THE GIRLS IN THIS AGE GROUP SOMETIMES, OFTEN, OR VERY OFTEN FEAR GOING TO SCHOOL BECAUSE OF BULLYING.

In addition to their fear of being bullied at school, the young people's perceptions of safety in their neighbourhood are examined. Is fear of being bullied at school linked to worries about personal safety elsewhere?

The report then concentrates on young people that sometimes, often, or very often are afraid to go to school because of bullying. In what way do they differ from others of the same age that apparently are not worried about being bullied?

We reveal that the boys and girls of higher confidence levels in the following areas link with lower levels of fearing bullying: Satisfaction with life, Self-esteem, Estimate of personal fitness, Feelings of personal control, Support at home, Confidence with the opposite sex, Attitude to personal weight, Being tall, and Attitude towards physical activities.

We find clear links to higher frequency of illness and disease and referral to the doctor among those more likely to fear bullying. The examples we select are connected with school, with health in general, and the way they look. There are also clear links with breathing problems and loss of sleep, which may both again be pointers to anxiety levels.

Support at home is clearly a key to personal security and confidence, and is suggested in the links made between sharing problems with adults.

Those who are most likely to turn to both mother and father for help are the least likely to fear bullying; at the other extreme, and for girls in particular, those who bottle their feelings up are most likely to include those fearing bullying. Many other associations are also suggested.

We have shown that levels of fear of bullying are substantial, and we have identified some characteristics of the `fear of being bullied' person. But what can be done at the school level? The report concludes by making some observations and suggestions.