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Girls more vicious than boys when it comes to bullying (THE TIMES / by JOHN ELLIOTT) GIRLS are far worse bullies than boys because of the psychological torment they inflict on their victims, a seven-year study has found. Their enjoyment of mental cruelty tends to have longer-lasting effects than the shouting and hitting favoured by boys. The harm is amplified by girls' willingness to turn on friends, first ostracising and then undermining them. Even at primary school, bullying is often part of girls competing for the attentions of the most attractive boys. "Boys don't pick on their friends, whereas girls do," said Val Besag, an educational psychologist who will present her findings next month at a meeting of the British Psychological Society. "Bullying is more covert and complex than among boys. Girls tend to use less physical means of bullying, but the effects can be more long-lasting and damaging." While boys are more interested in showing physical strength, girls use more subtle tactics thanks to more advanced linguistic skills. As they enter their teens, girls are two or three years ahead in their physical, intellectual and emotional development, undergoing puberty at age 11-12 compared with 14-15 for boys. Though a minority resort to physical bullying, Besag believes verbal bullying has been increasing through the use of e-mails and mobile phone text messages. A study by the charity Kidscape this year found girl-on-girl bullying had grown 48 per cent. Besag, who plans to publish her findings in a book, carried out 15 months of fieldwork at a primary school in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. She gained the trust of 20 girls aged 10-12 and interviewed them regularly about their social lives. She found their greatest anxiety was over friendships and that this fear was seized upon by bullies. In fact, they were so worried about friendships that they were much less likely to miss school in case their friends were "stolen". Those being bullied would find themselves shut out from playground circles of which, until shortly before, they had appeared to be a popular member. Girl bullies would act because they enjoyed being cruel and because, even at 10 and 11, they were conducting fierce battles over who had "rights" to the most attractive boys. Usually the boys were unaware of the fights taking place over them. Bullying experts point to an array of tactics used by girls to torment those displaying a chink of vulnerability. Boys are more likely to push and hit their victims. This can be both easier to avoid for the victim and easier for teachers to detect. A girl bully, by contrast, may suddenly turn on a member of her group and start spreading her innermost secrets around the playground. In a phenomenon which psychologists call "tall poppy syndrome", talented girls can find bullies trying to humiliate them. Clever girls can find their exercise books ripped up or homework spoilt. One victim was Kylie McGonagle, 14, one of Britain's top gymnasts. Her mother withdrew her from Penketh high school in Warrington, Cheshire, after she was victimised by jealous classmates. Clothes give further ammunition. As fashions change, those in the "wrong" trainers or experimenting with an unusual look can be teased mercilessly. The range of tactics has mushroomed as mobile phones, pagers and e-mail have become increasingly widespread, said Jackie Munn of the National Children's Home (NCH) charity. "The rise of this kind of bullying has been astronomical," she said. "It also allows the bully to hide behind a cloak of anonymity." According to a survey published by NCH this year, one in four children has been bullied through a mobile phone or personal computer. Childline receives more calls about bullying than any other issue. Jackie, 14, got in touch after her best friend turned against her and made her life "hell". "I took an overdose. I just wanted someone to notice me — the bullying," she told counsellors. |
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