What causes the age decline in reports of being bullied at school? Towards a developmental analysis of risks of being bullied

School-based surveys of reports of being bullied reveal a fairly steady downward trend through ages eight to 16 years. Four hypotheses are examined which may explain this age-related decline: (1) younger children have more children older than them in school, who are in a position to bully them; (2) younger children have not yet been socialized into understanding that you should not bully others; (3) younger children have not yet acquired the social skills and assertiveness skills to deal effectively with bullying incidents and discourage further bullying; and (4) younger children have a different definition of what bullying is, which changes as they get older. We test these hypotheses against existing data, and new data, in Study A from interviews with 48 pupils (aged seven-eight, nine-ten, 11-12 and 13-14 years); and in Study B from interviews with 159 participants (aged five-six, nine-ten, 15-16 and 18-29 years). The relative strength of the four hypotheses is evaluated. There is support for both (1) and (3); (2) appears to have little impact before age 15; and (4) may explain high rates of report in children under nine years. Implications of these findings are discussed.