Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: international comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries.

TY - JOUR

T1 - Bullying and symptoms among school-aged children: international comparative cross sectional study in 28 countries.

AU - Due, Pernille

AU - Holstein, Bjørn E

AU - Lynch, John

AU - Diderichsen, Finn

AU - Gabhain, Saoirse Nic

AU - Scheidt, Peter

AU - Currie, Candace

AU - Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Bullying Working Group

N1 - Keywords: Adolescent; Aggression; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data Collection; Female; Humans; Internationality; Male; Stress, Psychological

PY - 2005

Y1 - 2005

N2 - BACKGROUND: There have been no large-scale international comparisons on bullying and health among adolescents. This study examined the association between bullying and physical and psychological symptoms among adolescents in 28 countries. METHODS: This international cross-sectional survey included 123,227 students 11, 13 and 15 years of age from a nationally representative sample of schools in 28 countries in Europe and North America in 1997-98.The main outcome measures were physical and psychological symptoms. RESULTS: The proportion of students being bullied varied enormously across countries. The lowest prevalence was observed among girls in Sweden (6.3%, 95% CI: 5.2-7.4), the highest among boys in Lithuania (41.4%, 95% CI 39.4-43.5). The risk of high symptom load increased with increasing exposure to bullying in all countries. In pooled analyses, with sex stratified multilevel logistic models adjusted for age, family affluence and country the odds ratios for symptoms among students who were bullied weekly ranged from 1.83 (95% CI 1.70-1.97) to 2.11 (95% CI 1.95-2.29) for physical symptoms (headache, stomach ache, backache, dizziness) and from 1.67 (95% CI 1.55-1.78) to 7.47 (95% CI 6.87-8.13) for psychological symptoms (bad temper, feeling nervous, feeling low, difficulties in getting to sleep, morning tiredness, feeling left out, loneliness, helplessness). CONCLUSION: There was a consistent, strong and graded association between bullying and each of 12 physical and psychological symptoms among adolescents in all 28 countries.

AB - BACKGROUND: There have been no large-scale international comparisons on bullying and health among adolescents. This study examined the association between bullying and physical and psychological symptoms among adolescents in 28 countries. METHODS: This international cross-sectional survey included 123,227 students 11, 13 and 15 years of age from a nationally representative sample of schools in 28 countries in Europe and North America in 1997-98.The main outcome measures were physical and psychological symptoms. RESULTS: The proportion of students being bullied varied enormously across countries. The lowest prevalence was observed among girls in Sweden (6.3%, 95% CI: 5.2-7.4), the highest among boys in Lithuania (41.4%, 95% CI 39.4-43.5). The risk of high symptom load increased with increasing exposure to bullying in all countries. In pooled analyses, with sex stratified multilevel logistic models adjusted for age, family affluence and country the odds ratios for symptoms among students who were bullied weekly ranged from 1.83 (95% CI 1.70-1.97) to 2.11 (95% CI 1.95-2.29) for physical symptoms (headache, stomach ache, backache, dizziness) and from 1.67 (95% CI 1.55-1.78) to 7.47 (95% CI 6.87-8.13) for psychological symptoms (bad temper, feeling nervous, feeling low, difficulties in getting to sleep, morning tiredness, feeling left out, loneliness, helplessness). CONCLUSION: There was a consistent, strong and graded association between bullying and each of 12 physical and psychological symptoms among adolescents in all 28 countries.

U2 - 10.1093/eurpub/cki105

DO - 10.1093/eurpub/cki105

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 15755782

SN - 1101-1262

VL - 15

SP - 128

EP - 132

JO - European Journal of Public Health

JF - European Journal of Public Health

IS - 2

ER -