This study aimed, first, to examine sex differences in bullying behavior, and second, to probe for any relationships between "bullying among close friends" and the pupil's social skills and exclusiveness. A questionnaire was conducted, and approximately 450 fifth and sixth graders served as participants. The following results were obtained. Females experienced more bullying from close friends than did males, and this experience was likely to affect relational satisfaction with friends among females more than with friends among males. Furthermore, path-analysis was conducted to determine if social skills and exclusiveness might predict victimization as well as bullying. The path model fit males better than females, with both predictors having significant paths to the two outcome factors, while females only showed exclusiveness as predictive of these factors, and not social skills.
