Characteristics of bullying victims in school

The consequences of bullying can be severe in terms of young people's mental wellbeing, attitudes towards school, educational attainment and even potential suicide risk (Smith et al., 2004). It is therefore vital to gain more information about those young people who are particularly at risk of bullying so that policy interventions can be based on good evidence and targeted at the right groups. The results from this study provide robust evidence on the characteristics of bullying victims based on a representative cohort of young people aged 14 to 16 attending secondary schools in England between 2004 and 2006.