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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Measuring Attentional Biases for Threat in Children and Adults
Published on: October 19, 2014
Is all bullying the same?
Lihui Zhang1, Lars Osberg2, Shelley Phipps2
1Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, 110 - 2 Research Drive, Regina SK S4S 0A2, Canada.
Background:
We ask whether verbal abuse, threats of violence and physical assault among Canadian youth have the same determinants and whether these determinants are the same for boys and girls. If these are different, the catch-all term "bullying" may mis-specify analysis of what are really different types of behavior.
Methods:
We analyze five cohorts of Canadian youth aged 12-15 from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). There are 11475 observations in total. Pearson's correlation coefficients and six different multivariate strategies are used.
Results:
There are many faces to bullying, in terms of its form and relative frequencies for boys versus girls. Although some characteristics of an adolescent are strong predictors of being subject to more than one type of bullying, some other characteristics are only correlated with specific types of bullying.
Conclusions:
The many faces of bullying, and their correlation with different factors, imply different policy interventions may be needed to address each issue effectively.
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