Purpose Four forms of school bullying behaviors among US adolescents and their association with socio-demographic characteristics, parental support and friends were examined. Methods Data were obtained from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) 2005 Survey, a nationally-representative sample of grades 6 to 10 (N = 7182). The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used to measure physical, verbal and relational forms of bullying. Two items were added using the same format to measure cyber bullying. For each form, four categories were created: bully, victim, bully-victim, and not involved. Multinomial logistic regressions were applied, with socio-demographic variables, parental support and number of friends as predictors. Results Prevalence rates of having bullied others or having been bullied at school for at least once in the last 2 months were 20.8% physically, 53.6% verbally, 51.4% socially or 13.6% electronically. Boys were more involved in physical or verbal bullying, while girls were more involved in relational bullying. Boys were more likely to be cyber bullies, while girls were more likely to be cyber victims. African-American adolescents were involved in more bullying (physical, verbal or cyber) but less victimization (verbal or relational). Higher parental support was associated with less involvement across all forms and classifications of bullying. Having more friends was associated with more bullying and less victimization for physical, verbal and relational forms, but was not associated with cyber bullying. Conclusions Parental support may protect adolescents from all four forms of bullying. Friends associate differentially with traditional and cyber bullying. Results indicate that cyber bullying has a distinct nature from traditional bullying.

The prevalence of bullying among US youth is substantial. Given the concurrent behavioral and emotional difficulties associated with bullying, as well as the potential long-term negative outcomes for these youth, the issue of bullying merits serious attention, both for future research and preventive intervention.

The association of bullying with poorer psychosocial adjustment is remarkably similar across countries. Bullying is a critical issue for the health of youth internationally.

Purpose-Although bullying is recognized as a serious problem in the U.S., little is known about racial/ethnic differences in bullying risk. This study examined associations between bullying and family, peer, and school relations for White, Black and Hispanic adolescents.Methods-A nationally-representative sample (n=11,033) of adolescents in grades six to ten participated in the 2001 Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children survey, self-reporting bullying involvement and information on family, peer and school relations. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression analyses controlling for gender, age and affluence were stratified by race/ethnicity.Results-Nine percent of respondents were victims of bullying, 9% were bullies, and 3% were bully-victims. Black adolescents reported a significantly lower prevalence of victimization than White and Hispanic students. Multivariate results indicated modest racial/ethnic variation in associations between bullying and family, peer and school factors. Parental communication, social isolation, and classmate relationships were similarly related to bullying across racial/ethnic groups. Living with two biological parents was protective against bullying involvement for White students only. Further, although school satisfaction and performance were negatively associated with bullying involvement for White and Hispanic students, school factors were largely unrelated to bullying among Black students.Conclusions-Although school attachment and performance were inconsistently related to bullying behavior across race/ethnicity, bullying behaviors are consistently related to peer relationships across Black, White and Hispanic adolescents. Negative associations between family communication and bullying behaviors for White, Black and Hispanic adolescents suggest the importance of addressing family interactions in future bullying prevention efforts.

Background We sought to assess the relationship between bacterial vaginosis (BV) assessed by Gram stain and incident trichomonal (TV), gonococcal (GC) and/or chlamydial (CT) genital infection. Methods 3,620 non-pregnant women aged 15-44 presenting for routine care at 12 clinics in Birmingham, Alabama participated in a longitudinal study. Participants were assessed quarterly for one year. Vaginal smears were categorized by Nugent's Gram stain score (0-3 designated normal, 4-6 intermediate state, 7-10 BV). Pooled logistic regression was used to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) for the comparison of TV/GC/CT incidence in participants by Nugent category at the prior visit. Participants were censored at their first TV/GC/CT-positive visit. Results Of the 10,606 visits, 37.96% were classified as BV and 13.3% as TV/GC/CT-positive. Intermediate state or BV at the prior visit were associated with a 1.5-2-fold increased risk for incident TV/GC/CT infection (adjusted HR(aHR):1.41, 95% CI:1.12-1.76; aHR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.42-2.11, respectively, test for trend p=.058). Estimates were similar for TV-only, GC-only and CT-only outcomes. Conclusion BV microbiota gauged by Gram's stain is associated with a significantly elevated risk for acquisition of TV/GC/CT genital infection.