Denmark is among the countries in Europe where the fewest children experience bullying in school
Compared to children in 43 other European countries and Canada, fewer Danish children are bullied in school. However, Danish children experience bullying more often on social media, according to a new large international study.
A total of 279,000 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old students in 44 countries answered questions about, among other things, bullying in a new study conducted by the international research project Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC), of which the Danish School Children’s Survey is a part.
The study reveals that there is less bullying in Danish schools compared to other countries.
For example, Denmark is among the three countries where the incidence of bullying in schools is lowest among 13-year-olds. Seven percent of girls and six percent of boys in this age group have experienced bullying in school at least 2-3 times a month in the past few months.
In comparison, Lithuania has the highest incidence of 13-year-old children being bullied in school. One-third of 13-year-olds in Lithuania have been bullied at least 2-3 times a month in the past months.
Regarding the proportion of children who bully others in school, Denmark is again well-placed on the list. For instance, only two percent of 11-year-old girls and three percent of 11-year-old boys report having bullied others a few times within the past couple of months.
Moldova has the highest incidence of children bullying others. Thirteen percent of girls and 21 percent of boys in Moldova report having bullied others a few times within the past couple of months.
Bullying has significant consequences
For senior researcher and project leader of the Danish School Children’s Survey, Katrine Rich Madsen, it is positive news that the incidence of bullying in schools is lower compared to other countries. However, regardless of Denmark’s ranking, the numbers are still too high, she says.
“The incidence of bullying in schools has been decreasing in Denmark over the past 20 years, probably because schools have been effective in preventing bullying. But even though it has significantly improved and is moving in the right direction, compared to the rest of Europe, there are still too many children being bullied here at home. Therefore, it is important that we continue to work on preventing bullying in Danish schools,” she adds. She emphasizes that bullying has serious consequences for the well-being and loneliness of individual children.
“For example, we know that bullying significantly increases the risk of pain, mental health problems, and the risk of dropping out of school. Our latest research also shows that the incidence of loneliness among children who are exposed to bullying, both online and in school, is about ten times higher than among children who are not bullied. So the new study must not be a complacency, as we still have much work to do, especially because bullying now also occurs online and on social media. Unfortunately, the new study confirms this,” she says.
Bullying also occurs online
The study also presents figures for bullying via social media, and in this area, Denmark does not fare as well.
For example, 11 percent of 15-year-old girls and 13 percent of 15-year-old boys in Denmark have been bullied online at least once or twice within the past few months.
This places Danish 15-year-olds in 19th place among all the countries participating in the study.
"The figures indicate that we in Denmark need to improve our efforts to combat online bullying among children. Unfortunately, at this point, we know little about what works, but leading researchers in the field suggest that future preventive measures should be evidence-based and focus on bullying in all its forms, both physical and through social media," says Katrine Rich Madsen.
Facts about Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC):
The international research project Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) is a collaboration between research groups in more than 50 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO).
HBSC conducts comparable surveys of representative samples of 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old schoolchildren every four years in a total of 50 countries.
The School Children's Survey is Denmark's contribution to HBSC and has been conducted 11 times since 1984.