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Bullying involves aggressive behaviors with the intention to harm others, including manifestations of systematic abuse of power. Two types of bullying can be considered: physical and psychological. Students may get involved in bullying dynamics as bullies, victims, or both - aggressive victims. The literature defines bullying as a global phenomenon, affecting both girls and boys. Therefore, Portuguese schools are no exception, with several studies from North to South of the country demonstrating the presence of bullying in schools, both in elementary and middle schools. The aim of this study is to elaborate the differences and experiences by both genders, boys and girls, in the current dynamics of school bullying. Thus, answering the question - how different are girls and boys as bullies and victims? In addition, it intends to impart the acquired knowledge and raise awareness of the implications of this social context in which Portuguese children are currently involved. The results obtained from a sample of 1147 students attending the 1st cycle of Portuguese education (elementary schools) were in line with previous studies. In order to enrich the literature, bullies, victims, and aggressive victims were characterized in detail. Finally, the importance of the adults’ intervention, especially teachers, was highlighted.

The present study had two main goals. The first was to analyze the differences between parenting dimensions&mdash, strictness/imposition and involvement/acceptance&mdash, in adolescents&rsquo, engagement in peer aggression as aggressors, victims, aggressive victims, and non-involved. The second goal was to examine differences between parenting dimensions and peer-aggression roles by gender of both parents and adolescents. Participants were 779 adolescents (49.16% boys and 50.84% girls), aged between 12 and 16 years old (M = 14.21, SD = 1.35), enrolled in schools in Andalusia (Spain). Findings showed significant differences in parenting dimensions depending on gender of both adolescents (boy or girl) and parents (mother and father). For sons, non-involved adolescents scored higher in mother and father involvement than aggressors and aggressive victims. For daughters, non-involved scored higher in mother involvement than aggressors. Furthermore, girl aggressors and aggressive victims reported higher levels of mother imposition than non-involved. Results and their implications for sustainable development in adolescence are discussed.

Relatively little is known about bullying and defending behaviors of children in early elementary school. However, this period is crucial for children's development as at this age they start to participate in a stable peer group, and difficulties in social interactions can be detected early by professionals. An interactive animated web-based computer program was used in this study to assess peer relationships among young children. The computerized assessment was conducted among 2,135 children in grades 1-2 from 22 elementary schools to examine the association of bullying, victimization, and defending with being accepted or rejected. Same-sex and other-sex peer relations were distinguished using dyadic data. Both boys and girls were more likely to accept same-sex classmates than other-sex classmates, and boys were more often nominated than girls as perpetrators of bullying against both boys and girls. It was found that bullies were rejected by those for whom they posed a potential threat, and that defenders were preferred by those classmates for whom they were a potential source of protection. Bullies chose victims who were rejected by significant others, but contrary to expectations, children who bullied boys scored low on peer affection. It is possible that these bullies were not strategic enough to select the right targets. Overall, the current findings provide evidence for strategies involved in bullying and defending at early age. Aggr. Behav. 39:462-471, 2013. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relatively little is known about bullying and defending behaviors of children in early elementary school. However, this period is crucial for children's development as at this age they start to participate in a stable peer group, and difficulties in social interactions can be detected early by professionals. An interactive animated web-based computer program was used in this study to assess peer relationships among young children. The computerized assessment was conducted among 2,135 children in grades 1-2 from 22 elementary schools to examine the association of bullying, victimization, and defending with being accepted or rejected. Same-sex and other-sex peer relations were distinguished using dyadic data. Both boys and girls were more likely to accept same-sex classmates than other-sex classmates, and boys were more often nominated than girls as perpetrators of bullying against both boys and girls. It was found that bullies were rejected by those for whom they posed a potential threat, and that defenders were preferred by those classmates for whom they were a potential source of protection. Bullies chose victims who were rejected by significant others, but contrary to expectations, children who bullied boys scored low on peer affection. It is possible that these bullies were not strategic enough to select the right targets. Overall, the current findings provide evidence for strategies involved in bullying and defending at early age. Aggr. Behav. 39:462-471, 2013. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relatively little is known about bullying and defending behaviors of children in early elementary school. However, this period is crucial for children's development as at this age they start to participate in a stable peer group, and difficulties in social interactions can be detected early by professionals. An interactive animated web-based computer program was used in this study to assess peer relationships among young children. The computerized assessment was conducted among 2,135 children in grades 1-2 from 22 elementary schools to examine the association of bullying, victimization, and defending with being accepted or rejected. Same-sex and other-sex peer relations were distinguished using dyadic data. Both boys and girls were more likely to accept same-sex classmates than other-sex classmates, and boys were more often nominated than girls as perpetrators of bullying against both boys and girls. It was found that bullies were rejected by those for whom they posed a potential threat, and that defenders were preferred by those classmates for whom they were a potential source of protection. Bullies chose victims who were rejected by significant others, but contrary to expectations, children who bullied boys scored low on peer affection. It is possible that these bullies were not strategic enough to select the right targets. Overall, the current findings provide evidence for strategies involved in bullying and defending at early age. Aggr. Behav. 39:462-471, 2013. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Research on bullying and victimization largely rests on univariate analyses and on reports from a single informant. Researchers may thus know too little about the simultaneous effects of various independent and dependent variables, and their research may be biased by shared method variance. The database for this Dutch study was large (N = 1,065) and rich enough to allow multivariate analysis and multisource information. In addition, the effect of familial vulnerability for internalizing and externalizing disorders was studied. Gender, aggressiveness, isolation, and dislikability were most strongly related to bullying and victimization. Among the many findings that deviated from or enhanced the univariate knowledge base were that not only victims and bully/victims but bullies as well were disliked and that parenting was unrelated to bullying and victimization once other factors were controlled.