Researchers sought to determine which of 70 characteristics were seen by an international group of experts as being most applicable to bullies and victims. There was strong agreement among the 14 experts on the following 21 characteristics for victims:

• Believe that they cannot control their environment

• Have ineffectual social skills

• Have poor interpersonal skills

• Less popular than others

• Have underlying fears of personal inadequacy

• Blame themselves for their problems

• Given labels suggesting inadequacy

• Isolated socially

• Afraid of going to school

• Are physically younger, smaller, and weaker than peers

• Have limited skills for gaining success and acceptance

• Run out of communication capabilities during high-stress incidents

• Have a poor self-concept

• Show physical mannerism associated with depression

• Have frequent feelings of personal inadequacy

• Perform self-destructive actions

• Believe others are more capable of handling various situations

• Have difficulty relating to peers

• Have family members who are overinvolved in the student's decisions and activities

• Perceived progressive failures cause this person to put forth less effort with each presenting opportunity

• Feel external factors have more of an impact on them than internal control

Reference:

Hazler, R. J., Carney, J. V., Green, S., Powell, R., & Jolly, L. S. (1997). Areas of Expert Agreement on Identification of School Bullies and Victims. School Psychology International, 18, 3-12.