School factors related to bullying: a qualitative study of early adolescent students

Bullying at school and mental health problems among adolescents: a repeated cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To examine recent trends in bullying and mental health problems among adolescents and the association between them.

METHOD

A questionnaire measuring mental health problems, bullying at school, socio-economic status, and the school environment was distributed to all secondary school students aged 15 (school-year 9) and 18 (school-year 11) in Stockholm during 2014, 2018, and 2020 (n = 32,722). Associations between bullying and mental health problems were assessed using logistic regression analyses adjusting for relevant demographic, socio-economic, and school-related factors.

RESULTS

The prevalence of bullying remained stable and was highest among girls in year 9; range = 4.9% to 16.9%. Mental health problems increased; range = + 1.2% (year 9 boys) to + 4.6% (year 11 girls) and were consistently higher among girls (17.2% in year 11, 2020). In adjusted models, having been bullied was detrimentally associated with mental health (OR = 2.57 [2.24-2.96]). Reports of mental health problems were four times higher among boys who had been bullied compared to those not bullied. The corresponding figure for girls was 2.4 times higher.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to bullying at school was associated with higher odds of mental health problems. Boys appear to be more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of bullying than girls.

Experiences and Perspectives of Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Among Adolescents in Mainland China-Implications for Policy

The prevalence of traditional bullying and cyberbullying is high among Chinese adolescents. The aims of this study are to explore: (1) characteristics of children who are targets or perpetrators of traditional bullying or cyberbullying; (2) causes of bullying in middle school; (3) reactions and coping strategies of bullying victims; and (4) impacts of bullying on victims' psychosocial well-being. Students were selected based on the findings of previous quantitative research at schools in Zhejiang, Henan, and Chongqing. Snowball sampling led to identification of more informants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students involved in traditional bullying and cyberbullying as perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. Forty-one students aged 12-16 years (21 boys and 20 girls) from 16 schools in three provinces participated. Data collection and analysis followed a grounded theory approach. Among these students traditional bullying was much more common than cyberbullying, but there was a large overlap between the two types. The results informed a conceptual framework which identified the main causes of bullying in these settings: these included lack of education about bullying, inadequate classroom and dormitory management, and teachers' failure to recognize and punish bullying. Children with specific characteristics (such as being unattractive or low-achieving), were more likely to be bullied. Most victims lacked support of parents and teachers even when requested, leading to poor psychosocial well-being, difficulties with socialization, and poor academic performance. Our findings suggest that schools need to address bullying culture, through multi-faceted locally-appropriate approaches, based on zero tolerance. It is crucial to ensure that students, teachers and parents recognize the importance of such interventions.

Psychosocial perspective and suicidal behaviors correlated with adolescent male smoking and illicit drug use

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence of smoking and drug use among adolescent boys, and to examine adolescents' psychosocial factors, and suicidal behaviors associated with adolescents' substance use.

METHODS

The Kuwait Global School-Based Student Health Survey employed a two-stage cluster sample design targeting a representative sample of adolescents. This study focused on the participated 1310 boys. Statistical analysis included Chi-square test, student t-test, and multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The mean age was 14.5 ± 0.03 years. The reported prevalence of: smoking, ever drug use, and both smoking and drug use were 26.6% (95% CI:24.2-29.1%) and 7.4% (95% CI:6.1-9.0%) and 5.5% (95% CI:4.4-6.9%) respectively. Logistic regression model analysis revealed that adolescents whose parents smoke, suffered from insomnia, were victims of bullying, and had negative social school environment, were more likely than others to be smokers, drug users or both. Addendum, suicidal ideation, and its combination with suicidal planning and/or suicidal attempt were significantly associated with smoking. The odds of these life-threatening behaviors increased when drug use was reported and augmented when both smoking and drug use were experienced.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalence of smoking and illicit drug use were high among adolescent boys. This study confirmed the association between adolescents' smoking and substance use with psychosocial context, and suicidal behaviors. Addressing these predictors would be crucial in the development of effective strategies targeting the prevention of smoking and substance use, which might consequently reduce suicidal behaviors among adolescents.

Changes in Bullying in Relation to Friends, Competitiveness, and Self-Worth

The relationship between social-emotional experiences — number of friends, competitiveness, and self-worth — and changes in bullying behaviour was investigated among students in Grades 5 to 7. This two-wave study included 235 students for the first data collection and 237 students for the second data collection, with a final sample of 227 students who had participated at both time points. Following Zumbo, results of multiple regression analyses, using residualized difference scores, indicated that changes in the school variables (number of friends, competitiveness, and self-worth) were associated with changes in reported bullying behaviour from the middle to the end of the school year. In particular, children’s beliefs about their self-worth were important in predicting changes in bullying behaviour, with increased self-worth being associated with a decrease in reported bullying behaviour.

Bullying victimization experiences among middle and high school adolescents: Traditional bullying, discriminatory harassment, and cybervictimization

The objectives of the current study were to estimate the prevalence of nine types of bullying victimization among adolescents in Grades 7 to 12, and examine how these experiences vary according to gender and school grade. Data were drawn from the Manitoba Youth Health Survey. The sample size was N = 64 174 and included boys and girls from Grades 7 to 12. Nine types of bullying victimization were assessed. Gender and grade differences were noted with girls being more to likely than boys to report six types of victimization. The odds of bullying victimization were higher in Grades 8 to 12 compared to Grade 7. Effective anti-bullying intervention strategies need to address a range of victimization types and should consider gender and school grade. Interventions should start before Grade 7 and continue until the end of Grade 12.

School Bullying in Urban China: Prevalence and Correlation with School Climate

School violence and bullying in China is under investigated, though it has become a national concern recently. Using updated national representative survey data collected in 2016 from seven provinces across China, covering students from all pre-college school types (primary, middle, high and vocational schools), this paper analyzes the prevalence of school bullying and the correlation with several school attributes. The incidences of reported bullying, bullying others and witnessing bullying are 26.10%, 9.03% and 28.90%, respectively. Primary school students are more likely to be involved in bullying behaviors. Students from elite schools (leading schools) are also more likely to be involved. Relation with teachers, relation with peers and perceived academic achievement are protective factors. Being a boy is the only significant predictor of school bullying among the family and demographic characteristics used. The results highlight the importance of school climate on preventing school violence and bullying, and a whole-school intervention approach is needed for future intervention.

Bullying participant roles and gender as predictors of bystander intervention

Although the importance of peer bystanders in bullying has been recognized, there are few studies that examine the phenomenon in relation to Latané and Darley's (1970) classic Bystander Intervention Model, which states that there are five stages of bystander intervention: (i) notice the event; (ii) interpret the event as an emergency that requires assistance; (iii) accept responsibility for intervening; (iv) know how to intervene or provide help; and (v) implement intervention decisions. This study examined preliminary evidence of reliability and validity of the Bystander Intervention Model in Bullying (Nickerson, Aloe, Livingston, & Feeley, 2014), and the extent to which bullying role behavior (bullying, assisting, victimization, defending, and outsider behavior) and gender predicted each step of the model with a sample of 299 middle school students. Results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a five-factor structure of the measure corresponding to the steps of the model. There was evidence of convergent validity and Cronbach alpha for each subscale exceeded .75. In addition, students who reported defending their peers were more likely to also engage in all five steps of the bystander intervention model, while victims were more likely to notice events, and outsiders were less likely to intervene. Gender differences and gender interactions were also found. Aggr. Behav. 43:281-290, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The social ecology of girls' bullying practices: exploratory research in two London schools

This exploratory study adopts a socio-ecological approach to examine the context of school bullying. It asks: (1) what are students' accounts of bullying practices?; (2) how are these enabled and constrained by the school-environment?; (3) how is gender implicated? Qualitative data were collected from girls in two schools in London via focus groups (one in each school; students aged 12-15) and seven semi-structured interviews (in one school; students aged 16-18); and from school policy documents. Our interpretation of girls' accounts, informed by Giddens' structuration theory, suggests that bullying practices were spatially patterned in the schools and often characterised by the regulation of girls' sexuality and sexual-harassment. Repeated acts of aggression were fluid with regard to the bully and victim role, challenging the dominant view of bullying as characterised by consistent disparities in power between individuals. Schools structured bullying behaviour via policies and practices that ignored these forms of abuse and which focused on and may have been complicit in the making of stable 'bully' and 'victim' roles, thus indirectly contributing to the reproduction of unhealthy relationships between students. In terms of gender, traditional gendered and sexual discourses appear to structure the identities of the schools and girls in our study.

Teacher Involvement as a Protective Factor from the Association between Race-Based Bullying and Smoking Initiation

Experiencing bullying as a victim is associated with negative health and health behavior outcomes, including substance use, among adolescents. However, understandings of protective factors - factors that enhance adolescents' resilience to the negative consequences of bullying - remain limited. The current study investigates whether teacher involvement protects adolescent students from the association between being bullied due to race and smoking initiation. Students were recruited from 12 Kindergarten through 8^th grade schools in an urban school district in the Northeast United States. The analytic sample included 769 students who responded to surveys in 5^th or 6^th grade (2009), and two years later in 7^th or 8^th grade (2011). Students primarily identified as Latino and/or Black, and 90% were eligible for free or reduced lunch. Fifty-four (7%) students initiated smoking between survey time points. Among students reporting lower teacher involvement, race-based bullying was associated with higher likelihood of smoking initiation (OR = 1.69, p = .03). In contrast, among students reporting higher teacher involvement, racebased bullying was not associated with higher likelihood of smoking initiation (OR = 0.95, p = .81). Results suggest that teacher involvement may protect students from the association between race-based bullying and smoking initiation. Enhancing teacher involvement among students experiencing race-based bullying in schools may limit smoking initiation.

Prevalence and characteristics of victims and perpetrators of bullying

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of bullying (victims and perpetrators) in a representative sample of sixth graders from schools located in the city of Caxias do Sul, RS, Brazil and to determine possible associations with maternal education, socioeconomic level, sedentary habits, nutritional status, dissatisfaction with body image, gender, and age.

METHODS

This was a school-based epidemiological study. The target population consisted of sixth graders (11-14 years). A self-administered questionnaire and anthropometric measurements of weight and height were used for the assessment of nutritional status. Bullying was assessed through the Kidscape questionnaire, and body image through the Body Shape Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate analyses were used.

RESULTS

1,230 schoolchildren were evaluated, and the prevalences of victims and perpetrators of bullying were 10.2% and 7.1%, respectively. Those dissatisfied with their body image were three times more likely to be victims of bullying (PR=3.24; CI=1.99- 5.28), and almost twice as likely to be aggressors (PR=1.98; CI=1.53-3.73) than those who were satisfied. Schoolchildren with sedentary habits (more than three hours a day) were 55% more likely to be victims of bullying (PR=1.55; CI=1.01- 2.36) and more than twice as likely (PR=2.42; CI=1.47-3.97) to be aggressors. Boys were more than twice as likely (PR=2.45; CI=1.42-4.24) to be aggressors.

CONCLUSIONS

Body image and sedentary habits were associated with victims and perpetrators, and male gender was more prevalent among the perpetrators of bullying.