Bullying in Physical Education During Compulsory Primary Education: Prevalence, Typologies and Differences by Sex and Year Group

Background/Objectives: Bullying represents a serious threat to the physical, psychological, and social well-being of students, with particular relevance in Physical Education (PE) contexts, where the physical and competitive nature of the setting may facilitate specific forms of aggression. Despite growing research interest, evidence on the prevalence and distribution of bullying roles and typologies within PE remains limited, particularly in primary education. This study aimed to analyse the prevalence of bullying victimisation, perpetration, and bully-victim profiles among primary school pupils in PE, as well as to examine differences by sex and year group across the different forms of bullying behaviour. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with an analytical sample of 831 pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 of compulsory primary education in Córdoba, Spain. Bullying roles and typologies were assessed using a validated self-report instrument. Differences by sex and year group were examined through appropriate inferential analyses. Results: A total of 21.1% of pupils were identified as victims, 5% as perpetrators, and 8.5% as bully-victims. The most frequent form of perpetration was exclusion/rejection (7.9%), surpassing physical and verbal aggression. Boys showed greater physical victimisation and a higher tendency towards the pure perpetrator role, whilst exclusion showed no significant differences by sex. Physical and verbal behaviours decreased as year group advanced, whereas exclusion remained stable throughout the entire primary stage. The bully-victim profile was more prevalent in lower year groups. Conclusions: The findings highlight the particular relevance of exclusion/rejection as the predominant form of bullying in PE, which persists across year groups regardless of sex. These results underscore the need to design inclusive groupings, promote cooperative tasks, and implement early intervention strategies. Specific training for PE teachers in bullying detection and intervention is identified as a priority to address this phenomenon effectively within the PE context.