There has been a lack of studies on bullying in non-western low-income and middle-income countries. This study reported the prevalence of traditional victimization, cybervictimization, and the combination of these, in 13 European and Asian countries, and explored how psychiatric symptoms were associated with victimization. The data for this cross-sectional, school-based study of 21,688 adolescents aged 13–15 were collected from 2011 to 2017. The main outcomes were traditional and cybervictimization obtained from student self-reports. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess psychiatric symptoms. Generalized estimating equation and logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The mean prevalence of any victimization was 28.9%, of traditional victimization only, this was 17.7%, and for cybervictimization only this was 5.1%. Cybervictimization occurred both independently, and in combination with, traditional victimization. The mean prevalence of combined victimization was 6.1%. The mean proportion of those who were cyberbullied only among those who were either cyberbullied only or bullied both traditionally and in cyber was 45.1%. The rates of prevalence varied widely between countries. In the total sample, those who experienced combined victimization, reported the highest internalizing symptoms (girls, OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.22–1.29; boys, OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.25–1.33). The study findings suggest that anti-bullying interventions should include mental health components and target both traditional and cyberbullying. Due to the overlap between these, targeting bullying should primarily focus on how to reduce bullying behavior rather than just focusing on where bullying takes place.

Maezono, J., Hamada, S., Sillanm€ aki, L., Kaneko, H., Ogura, M., Lempinen, L. & Sourander, A. (2019). Cross-cultural, population-based study on adolescent body image and eating distress in Japan and Finland. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 60, 67-76.This cross-sectional population-based survey compares the prevalence of self-reported body image and eating distress symptoms among adolescents in Japan and Finland, and associations between emotional/behavioral problems, body image and eating distress from a cross-cultural perspective. The study included 1,840 Japanese and 1,135 Finnish 8th grade students. The self-reported questionnaire included the Body Image and Eating Distress Scale and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The female adolescents from both Finland and Japan reported much greater dissatisfaction with, and concern about, their bodies than the males and Japanese females expressed even higher distress than Finnish females. High levels of body image and eating distress were associated with psychiatric problems measured with the SDQ. There was a significant three-way interaction effect of body image and eating distress, gender and country with SDQ peer problems and prosocial behavior.

Background: No previous population-based studies have examined associations between self-cutting, perceived school safety, and bullying behavior among East Asian adolescents. Method: We examined whether bullying, victimization, and perceived school safety were associated with self-cutting by getting 1865 students with a mean age of 13.9 years (standard deviation 0.2 years) to complete questions on these variables. Psychiatric problems were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results: About 5.6% of males and 11.9% females had practiced self-cutting and when we controlled these results for psychiatric symptoms, self-cutting was associated with being both a bully and a victim among males and females. In addition, self-cutting was independently associated with perceived school safety among females. Those who felt unsafe at school and were victimized were much more likely to engage in self-cutting. Conclusions: Self-cutting among Japanese adolescents was linked with bullying behavior and feeling unsafe at school. Secure school environments and school-based antibullying programs could help to prevent adolescent self-injurious behavior. Key Practitioner Message• Self-cutting has been observed among adolescents, with females engaging in self-harm more frequently than males, and this is of clinical concern.• Being a bully and a victim of bullying have been strongly associated with self-cutting in both male and female adolescents.• Schools can help to reduce the incidence of self-cutting by providing a safe environment and providing antibullying programs.

Background/Aims: In this study, we examined changes in the concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin (oxy- and deoxy-Hb, respectively) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the digit span task by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Methods: The digit span task consists of the digit span forward and backward tasks. The tasks were performed by 22 healthy undergraduate students who participated in this study. Differences in the mean concentrations of oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb between the baseline and task intervals were evaluated. Results: In digit span backward, oxy-Hb was significantly higher during the task interval than during the baseline. Further, deoxy-Hb was significantly lower during the task interval than during the baseline in both digit span forward and digit span backward. Digit span forward performance was significantly higher for the right-PFC-dominant group than for the left-PFC-dominant group. Conclusion: These results suggest that the digit span backward task is more demanding and requires greater activation of the prefrontal cortex than the digit span forward task. Our NIRS findings suggest that the digit span backward task involves executive functioning.

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This paper reviews the problem of ijime in Japan from a variety of perspectives, primarily through studies conducted in this country. The term ijime is not uniform in concept, open to different interpretations given the disparity in definitions among different circles, making precise assessment of the actual conditions difficult. Such being the case, what is needed is further study on the mechanisms and actual state of ijime accounting for the flow of the times, and compilation of research to enable the creation of ever more effective modes of prevention and intervention.

Few researchers have explored the prevalence and impact of risk factors of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in community-dwelling Japanese adolescents. We used a survey to assess NSSI-associated factors; somatic symptoms; and sleep, psychiatric, and eating problems in a sample of 1,840 Japanese 8th grade students. Associations were examined via logistic regression analyses. Among the students, 34.6% engaged in either self-hitting or self-cutting. A significant association was found between abdominal pain, sleep disturbance, conduct issues, and eating problems on one hand, and self-hitting without self-cutting as well as self-cutting with or without self-hitting on the other. Emotional problems were associated with self-hitting, and headaches and peer relationship problems were associated with self-cutting. Participants who engaged in both self-cutting and self-hitting reported more headaches and conduct problems than those who engaged only in self-cutting, suggesting a greater level of mental disturbance in these adolescents. These problems should be given serious attention by clinicians when evaluating adolescents regarding the presence of NSSI.