Handbook on the State of the Art in Applied Psychology

CHAPTER 11Five Decades of Research on School Bullying: What Have We Learned?

Shelley Hymel

Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

It is only in the last five decades that school bullying has become a major focus in psychological and educational research. This chapter outlines how research on school bullying has unfolded during that time and describes some of the current understandings of the problem and our efforts to address it. Following a description of the forms that bullying can take, findings regarding the prevalence of bullying and the stability of peer victimization are reviewed, as well as sex and age differences in reported bullying and victimization. Next considered is the growing list of correlates and consequences of bullying, documenting how both victims and perpetrators are at risk for a range of adjustment difficulties. In an effort to understand the nature of bullying, early research focusing on characteristics of the individual, gave way to consideration of group processes that impact school bullying, which, in turn, influenced the nature of school‐based, anti‐bullying efforts. Although several anti‐bullying programs have demonstrated some success in reducing bullying and victimization, the overall impact of such efforts has been limited. In moving forward, it is argued that research and practice in this area might benefit from considering bullying, and anti‐bullying efforts, as part of a larger ...