This briefing paper looks at the social context of bullying in Scottish schools. It examines the perceptions that schoolchildren have of their school atmosphere, teachers and peer groups and compares the perceptions expressed by those who bully, those who are bullied, those who have experienced both, and those who have experienced neither.

It also contains information on truancy and perceptions of parental monitoring in relation to bullying behaviour, focusing primarily on pupils who reported that they bullied others.

The paper uses data gathered in the 2002 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey.