The relationship among bullying, victimization, depression, anxiety, and aggression in elementary school children

The objective of the study was to examine sex and grade differences among bullies, victims, bully/victims, and comparison children on physical, verbal, and indirect aggression and victimization and on depression and anxiety. 546 children (254 boys and 292 girls) in grades five through eight participated in the study. Children completed the Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus (1989) Questionnaire for students (Junior and Senior versions), unpublished manuscript), the Franke and Hymel (1984) Social Anxiety Scale, the Childrenʹ Depression Inventory (Kovacs (1985) Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995–998), and the English Version of the Relational Aggression and Victimization Scale (Lagerspetz, Bjorkqvist & Peltonen (1988) Aggressive Behavior, 14, 403–414). The results indicated that across both grade levels, male bullies reported more physical aggression than did comparison groups. Male bully/victims in the younger grades reported more physical and verbal aggression than did comparison groups. Male bullies and victims in the older grades reported more verbal aggression. For females, group differences in aggression did not emerge until the older grades. The aggression results were not mirrored in the victimization reports: There were only significant group differences (between the at-risk groups and the comparisons children) on physical, verbal, and indirect victimization.