More than one in three primary schoolboys have been physically attacked in the last three months, according to the preliminary findings of a survey conducted by Trinity College Dublin's Anti-Bullying Centre.
The survey, which will be published later this year, found that 35.6 per cent of boys and 19.2 per cent of girls were physically attacked in the previous three months. The children were aged between eight and 12-years-old.
The survey of 2,354 children from 33 primary schools was commissioned last year by Stephen James Minton and Prof Mona O'Moore of the anti-bullying centre. Overall, 31.4 per cent of boys and 25.8 per cent of girls said they had been bullied in the previous three months.
In all cases, boys were more likely to be subjected to bullying than girls. Some 21.6 per cent of boys and 18.7 per cent of girls had been bullied within the previous five school days.
One in 10 boys had been bullied via text message or mobile phone in the previous three months. The figure was slightly lower for girls - 8.7 per cent.
The survey found that children were more likely to be verbally than physically attacked. Almost 45 per cent of boys had been verbally attacked in the previous three months, while 36.4 per cent of girls said they had experienced this.
The survey, which was funded by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences, is the first such study in recent years. Prof O'Moore conducted a larger nationwide survey of bullying in schools in 1993-1994. It found that 31.3 per cent of third to sixth-class pupils had been bullied in the previous three months.
Mr Minton said it was difficult to compare both studies as they had not asked exactly the same questions and the earlier study was larger. However, preliminary findings suggested that the incidence of bullying was about the same in both studies.
He said this was worrying, as awareness of the issue had increased in recent years so the incidence of bullying would have been expected to reduce.
"Or would it have been a lot worse if we did not have these interventions?" he asked. Mr Minton said the question about text and mobile phone bullying had been included because parents were extremely concerned about this new form of bullying.
Concern was also growing about the incidence of bullying through the internet. He said this question would have been included if the survey was being conducted today.
Mr Minton said it was very disappointing that "a coherent, government-led, multi-partner strategy" still had not been introduced despite the success of such initiatives.
An anti-bullying programme which was undertaken in 42 Donegal primary schools by Prof O'Moore in 1998-2000, resulted in significant reductions in bullying. Some five years later, 43 per cent fewer pupils reported victimisation in the past five school days.
Mr Minton said the anti-bullying centre would be happy to assist the Department of Education with anti-bullying measures.
