What hurts: The reported consequences of negative interactions with peers among Australian adolescent school children

Abstract

The prevalence and hurtfulness of aggressive actions from peers at school experienced by Australian adolescents was examined with a sample of 652 Year 9 students (mean age 14 years) attending seven secondary schools in Adelaide, South Australia. Kinds of aggressive actions reported were categorised as physical, verbal and relational. In general, boys reported receiving more physical aggression; girls more relational aggression. Although girls tended to report being hurt more by aggressive acts than boys, they were similar in reporting acts of relational aggression, such as exclusion, as more hurtful to them than being subjected to physical aggression. Implications for interventions to reduce aggression in schools are discussed.