Bullying in Northern Ireland 1
A cross-national perspective on school bullying in Northern Ireland:
a supplement to Smith et al. (1999)
Conor Mc Guckin1 and Christopher Alan Lewis
School of Psychology
University of Ulster at Magee College
Running Head: Bullying in Northern Ireland
Address for correspondence:
1
Conor Mc Guckin, School of Psychology, University of Ulster at Magee College,
Londonderry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, BT48 7JL.
Bullying in Northern Ireland 2
Summary:- There is great value in exploring the prevalence of school bullying from a
cross-national perspective. Smith, Morita, Junger-Tas, Olweus, Catalano, and Slee
(1999) presented a cross-national perspective on the nature, prevalence, and correlates
of school bullying that encompassed a wide range of countries. However, Northern
Ireland was not included, despite it potentially being an important country to include;
given its volatile, social, ethnic, and religious history – leading to the concern that the
population has become somewhat habituated to low level aggression. Thus, the
present paper provides a review of the current literature on school bullying in the
Northern Ireland school system. Evidence presented suggests that the incidence of
school bullying in Northern Ireland may be higher than those found in the rest of
Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Bullying in Northern Ireland 3
Overview
Bullying in schools is an international problem (Smith & Morita, 1999). As such,
there is great value in exploring the prevalence of the phenomenon from a crossnational perspective. In their review of the nature of school bullying, Smith, Morita,
Junger-Tas, Olweus, Catalano, and Slee (1999) present a cross-national perspective
on the nature, prevalence, and correlates of school bullying that encompasses specific
reviews from each of the Scandinavian countries (Finland: Björkqvist & Österman,
1999; Denmark: Dueholm, 1999; Norway: Olweus, 1999a; Sweden: Olweus, 1999b);
the U.K. and Republic of Ireland (Ireland: Byrne, 1999; Scotland: Mellor, 1999;
England & Wales: Smith, 1999), Latin countries (France: Fabre-Cornali, Emin, &
Pain, 1999; Italy: Fonzi, Genta, Menesini, Bacchini, Bonino, & Costabile, 1999;
Spain: Ortega & Mora-Merchan, 1999; Portugal: Tomás de Almeida, 1999), central
Europe (Switzerland: Alsaker & Brunner, 1999; Poland: Janowski, 1999; The
Netherlands: Junger-Tas, 1999; Germany: Lösel & Bliesener, 1999; Belgium:
Vettenburg, 1999), North America (Canada: Harachi, Catalano, & Hawkins, 1999a;
U.S.A.: Harachi, Catalano & Hawkins, 1999b), the Pacific Rim (Japan: Morita,
Soeda, Soeda, & Taki, 1999; Australia: Rigby & Slee, 1999; Aotearoa/New Zealand:
Sullivan, 1999), and the developing world (e.g., Palestine, South Africa: Ohsako,
1999). Whilst the list of countries reviewed is long, it is not exhaustive. Of concern
here is the omission of a review of the knowledge base regarding bullying behaviours
in the Northern Ireland school system.
Whilst Northern Ireland may be geographically ‘close’ to countries with
reported national data (i.e, Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland), it is also the case that
Northern Ireland is culturally ‘distant’ from these countries. Of particular note is the
fact that Northern Ireland has endured the impact of over 30 years of violent ethno-
Bullying in Northern Ireland 4
political conflict that has its roots in 300 years of Irish history, but was most recently
ignited around issues of sectarian discrimination and national sovereignty (Cairns &
Darby, 1998). As such, the study of aggression in a region with an experience of
cross community conflict and division provides a chance to appraise the possible role
of socio-environmental factors in the development and expression of aggressive
tendencies in children. The present authors have been working on a detailed and
sustained programme of research into the nature, prevalence, and correlates of
bullying behaviours among the Northern Ireland population (e.g., Mc Guckin, Lewis,
& Shevlin, 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2000c, 2001a, 2001b). However, before such work is
presented to a wider audience there is a need to provide an overview of the current
state of bullying research in Northern Ireland.
The present paper provides a supplement to Smith, et al.’s (1999) crossnational review of the nature of school bullying, with a complementary overview of
the current knowledge of the nature of school bullying in the Northern Ireland school
system in a similar format to that adopted in the country reports in Smith, et al.
(1999).
Children and the Northern Ireland Conflict
Despite paramilitary ceasefires and a reduction in the number of police and army
personnel on the streets, aggression and violence are still very much a part of living in
Northern Ireland, with sectarian murders and paramilitary punishment beatings still
occurring. As the paramilitary organizations work on a ‘no-claim, no-blame’ policy,
the ceasefires remain intact and political representatives of these organizations can
still hold offices of power in Northern Irelands Government. Also, despite ceasefires
from paramilitary organizations on both sides of the community divide, these
Bullying in Northern Ireland 5
organizations still attempt to police their own ethnosectarian communities, meting out
punishment shootings (knee-capping, elbows and ankles), vicious beatings, and
exiling individuals for so-called ‘anti-social behaviours’ (e.g., drugs, car theft). Such
aggression permeates many areas of Northern Ireland. Indeed, recent research has
highlighted the widespread experience children have of conflict and violence
(McAuley, 1988; Children’s Rights Development Unit, 1994; Macksoud & Aber,
1996; Muldoon & Trew, 2000a, 2000b; Straker, Mendelsohn, Moosa, & Tudin, 1996).
For example, the Children’s Rights Development Unit (1994) has reported that 10%
to 12% of the children in Northern Ireland have suffered from excess levels of stress
because of the conflict. Whilst some reviews (e.g., Cairns & Wilson, 1989) and
research (e.g., Joseph, Cairns, & McCollam, 1993) report little evidence that Northern
Irish children have been psychologically affected by the political violence, Muldoon
and Trew (2000a, 2000b) report that Northern Irish children’s experience of political
conflict may be related to behavioural maladjustment. Indeed, Wilson and Cairns
(1992) noted the possibility that aggressive behaviour may be a form of coping
response for young people, particularly boys (see also Fee, 1980). This position is
consistent with the view that experience of political conflict and violence is
particularly, and perhaps causally, related to externalising and delinquent behaviour
(Titmus, 1950; Shoham, 1994; Cairns, 1996). A major aim of the present research
team is to determine the potential link between bullying behaviours in Northern
Ireland’s schools and children’s experience of ‘The Troubles’.
Research on Bullying in Northern Ireland
Whilst there have been some exploratory studies of the nature of bullying within
schools in Northern Ireland (e.g., Collins & Bell, 1996; Grant, 1996; Taylor, 1996),
Bullying in Northern Ireland 6
the true prevalence and nature of the phenomenon in the Province has not yet been
defined. The largest and most representative study to date in Northern Ireland has
recently been published by the Department of Education for Northern Ireland
(Collins, Mc Aleavey, & Adamson, 2002; Department of Education for Northern
Ireland, 2001). Utilising The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989), the
Department sampled 3,000 pupils from 120 schools in the Province (60 primary; 60
post-primary). Collins, et al. (2002) reported that 40.1% of primary students and
30.2% of post-primary students claimed to have been bullied during the period of the
study (March 2000 - June 2000). The rate of victimization reported among the
primary school pupils (40.1%) was higher than comparative rates reported for the
Republic of Ireland (31.3%: O’Moore, Kirkham, & Smith, 1997) and England
(37.0%: Whitney & Smith, 1993) using the same instrument. The victimization rate
of 30.2% among post-primary pupils was similarly higher than those reported for the
Republic of Ireland (15.6%: O’Moore, et al., 1997) and for England (14%: Whitney
& Smith, 1993). Indeed, 5% of the primary pupils and 2% of the post-primary pupils
reported that they had suffered bullying for several years. Regarding taking part in
bullying others at school, this was reported by approximately a quarter (24.9%) of the
primary pupils and 29% of the post-primary pupils. Whilst the rate of 24.9% for
taking part in bullying others among the primary pupils was higher than the rate of
16% reported by Whitney and Smith (1993) in their English study, it was marginally
lower than the 26.4% reported in O’Moore, et al.’s (1997) Irish study. The Northern
Irish data regarding taking part in bullying others among the post-primary sample
(29%) was significantly higher than the rates reported among both Irish (14.9%:
O’Moore, et al., 1997) and English (7%: Whitney & Smith, 1993) samples. Collins et
al. (2002) also asserted that all of the evidence indicated that bullying was happening
Bullying in Northern Ireland 7
even in the best regulated schools, was not age or gender-specific, and was sometimes
underplayed by the schools and teachers.
Thus, it becomes evident that whilst the Republic of Ireland and England are
close to Northern Ireland in terms of geography, there are significant differences in
bullying and victimization rates across both the primary- and post-primary sectors that
may be indicative of cultural differences between these jurisdictions. However,
Collins, et al. (2002) caution us regarding direct comparisons between their data and
that reported by O’Moore, et al. (1997) and Whitney and Smith (1993). Specifically,
Collins, et al. (2002) report that their post-primary sample were aged 13- to 14-years
whilst the age range in O’Moore, et al.’s (1997) sample was 11- to 18-years. Lower
incidence figures reported by O’Moore, et al. (1997) may be a reflection of the larger
age range of their sample and that bullying and victimization rates decrease with age.
Collins, et al. (2002) also highlight that the data for the different studies were
collected at disparate times (e.g., Northern Ireland data collected in 2000, English data
collected in 1990).
Whilst the recent Collins, et al. (2002) study has gone some way in
highlighting the extent of bullying and victimization behaviours in the Northern
Ireland school system, previous smaller scale studies (Collins & Bell, 1996; Grant,
1996; Taylor, 1996) have also helped to draw attention to the extent of such
behaviours within the Province’s schools. For example, in their study among a
sample of 118 (58 boys, 60 girls; age range = 8- to 10-years) pupils from 3 Belfast
primary schools, Collins and Bell (1996) found that, on The Olweus Bully\Victim
Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989), 24% (18% boys, 6% girls) of the pupils were
identified as bullies (comparable figures for victims and bystanders were not
reported). Also utilising The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989),
Bullying in Northern Ireland 8
Taylor (1996) reports data from a study among a sample of 145 post-primary school
pupils looking at the efficacy of Anti-Bullying Policies. Twenty-two per-cent of the
pupils in schools with Anti-Bullying Policies reported being bullied compared with
31% in the control schools with no policy in place. In her study among 150 (82 boys,
68 girls) grade 6 primary school pupils, Grant (1996) found that, in response to the
question: “Have you ever been bullied?” 59.33% (n = 89; 68% of boys, 49% of girls)
of the pupils responded that they had been bullied. In interpreting this high rate,
Grant (1996) asserted that it could reflect the fact that the pupils may have been “ …
unsure where bullying began and ‘messing about’ ended.” (p. 37).
Whilst the results from the studies by Collins and Bell (1996), Taylor (1996),
and Grant (1996) add to our knowledge of the incidence of bullying and victimization
in Northern Ireland’s school system, they should be interpreted with caution in that
their relatively small samples make comparison with larger and more representative
studies such as Collins, et al. (2002) difficult. Indeed, work by the current researchers
aims to replicate the findings of Collins, et al. (2002) using The Olweus Bully\Victim
Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989) and to further ascertain the incidence of bullying
behaviours in the Northern Ireland school system utilising other instruments such as
The Peer Relations Questionnaire (Rigby, 1998) and The Life in School Checklist
(Arora, 1994).
Action, Initiatives and Resource Materials
Action aimed at preventing bullying in Northern Irelands schools has traditionally
come from three areas: Government (Department of Education), local education
authorities (Education and Library Boards) and the independent sector (night-classes,
community drama groups).
Bullying in Northern Ireland 9
At the Government level, anti-bullying initiatives and programmes have been
developed and disseminated to the Provinces schools by the Department of Education.
The focus of these publications (e.g., Promoting and Sustaining Good Behaviour:
Discipline Strategy for Schools; Department of Education, 1998; Pastoral Care in
Schools: Child Protection; Department of Education, 1999; Pastoral Care in Schools:
Promoting Positive Behaviour; Department of Education, 2001) has sharpened as
bullying becomes more of a topical issue in Northern Ireland. This is evidenced in the
Education Minister’s plan to bring forward legislation to have every school develop
and implement an Anti-Bullying Policy. Indeed, an examination of the Department of
Education’s Pastoral Care publications (1999, 2001) demonstrates the increased
attention being paid to school bullying by the Department. Whilst the 1999
publication deals with bullying in 1.5 pages of a total 118 pages, the 2001 publication
offers a full chapter on bullying and developing an anti-bullying policy (26 pages of a
total of 157 pages). Considering that the findings of the Department of Education
study (Collins, et al., 2002) point out a high prevalence of bullying in the Province’s
schools, and that the Education Minister is taking legislative steps regarding the issue,
the production of guidelines to schools is welcome.
At the level of local authority, some good guidance documents and support
packs have been developed and made available to schools. For example, the Southern
Education and Library Board have developed a set of easily scored questionnaires for
pupils, parent or carer, teachers and ancillary staff that are freely available through the
internet. The contents of the pack closely reflect the need for a whole-community
approach to bullying in schools. In conjunction with the questionnaires, the Board
also provides guidance documents and an example of an anti-bullying policy. In
conjunction with the documentation from the Department of Education, this package
Bullying in Northern Ireland 10
called ‘Challenging Bullying Behaviour’ appears to be a good start for schools whose
aim to reduce bullying behaviours.
The independent sector is also playing their part in addressing bullying. The
authors have been involved over the last few years in the planning and delivery of
night-classes specifically aimed at both the parents or carers of bullied children, and
teachers and community workers. The response to the night-classes from teachers has
been welcome and strategies for tackling bullying have been discussed and explored.
An integral part of the night-classes has been the involvement of a local community
theatre group (Balor Community Development Group) who perform their short play
on school bullying. This play was also well received during a school bullying
symposium at The British Psychological Society (Northern Ireland Branch) Annual
Conference in 2000 (Lewis, 2000). After the play has finished (10 minutes duration),
the audience are asked for strategies that ‘Jim’ or other actors in the play could have
implemented to stop the bullying. When a strategy is offered, the person offering the
strategy is encouraged to act it out with the actors ad-libbing around the new scenario.
Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of these interactions is that those adults who offer
strategies often see their futility when acted out.
Future Directions
As highlighted, Northern Ireland is a region in transition from a lengthy period of
ethno-political conflict. As the impact of ‘The Troubles’ on children in the Province
has not been fully researched or understood, detailed knowledge about school
bullying may offer an insight to a previous unknown cost of the conflict. Preliminary
data suggests that schoolchildren in Northern Ireland experience a greater level of
bullying than children in most other countries. The current research programme
Bullying in Northern Ireland 11
should aid policy developers and educators in Northern Ireland in their attempts to
devise, implement, and evaluate evidence-based practices to reduce bullying in
schools. Indeed, such an approach is required if impending legislation requires
schools to have an anti-bullying policy.
Whilst attempts are certainly being made to determine the true nature of
bullying within a Northern Ireland context, future research should also focus on the
experiences of minority groupings in the community, such as the traveller community
and those children who are educationally disadvantaged. Also, focused in-service
staff training that will further help all school staff in the identification and resolution
of bullying behaviours will be welcomed. This, in conjunction with a committed
approach of the whole community to reducing bullying will certainly help reduce the
amount of bullying in Northern Irelands schools.
Bullying in Northern Ireland 12
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