f2f and cyberbullying among children in Northern Ireland: Data from the Kids Life and Times Surveys

Abstract

Comparatively little is known about the nature, incidence andcorrelates of bully/victim problems in the Northern Ireland school system. The present study examined the prevalence of self-reported experiences of bully/victim problems (f2f and cyber), and the relationship between such experiences and levels of psychological wellbeing among representative samples of primary school pupils who participated in the 2008 and 2009 ‘Kids Life and Times Survey’ (ARK, 2008, 2009). Bully/victim problems among these children were pervasive. Personal experience of involvement in bully/victim problems was associated with impaired psychological well-being.Findings are interpreted within the context of previous data from Northern Ireland and the wider international literature on bully/victim problems.

Keywords

• bully
• victim
• cyberbullying
• Northern Ireland
• health
• well-being