Bullying is a traumatic phenomenon that is reported by people who suffer from persecutory delusions to a higher degree than those who do not. This study, thus, gives support to the idea that childhood abuse within the family is associated with bullying experiences and that a traumatic infancy may lead to the use of aggressive traits and behaviours to deal with a threatening environment (Bentall and Fernyhough, 2008). This argument raises clinical issues regarding anger management and addressing bullying experiences in individuals with persecutory ideation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.