Bullying and PTSD Symptoms

Abstract

PTSD symptoms related to school bullying have rarely been investigated, and never in national samples. We used data from a national survey to investigate this among students from grades 8 and 9 (n = 963). The prevalence estimates of exposure to bullying were within the range of earlier research findings. Multinomial logistic regression showed that boys were 2.27 times more likely to be exposed to frequent bullying than girls. A latent variable second-order model demonstrated an association between frequency of bullying exposure and PTSD symptoms (beta = 0.49). This relationship was not moderated by gender. However, the average levels of PTSD symptoms as well as clinical range symptoms were higher for girls. For all bullied students, 27.6% of the boys and 40.5% of the girls had scores within the clinical range. A mimic model showed that youth who identify as being both a bully and a victim of bullying were more troubled than those who were victims only. Our findings support the idea that exposure to bullying is a potential risk factor for PTSD symptoms among students. Future research could investigate whether the same holds for PTSD through diagnostic procedures, but this will depend on whether or not bullying is decided to comply with the DSM-IV classification of trauma required for diagnosis. Results are discussed with regard to their implications for school interventions.

Efeitos tardios do bullying e transtorno de estresse pós-traumático: uma revisão crítica

“…Após análises estatísticas, os autores perceberam que dois tipos de bullying, vitimização direta e relacional, estavam relacionadas positivamente e significativamente aos sintomas de TEPT. Idsoe et al (2012) realizaram uma pesquisa com 963 estudantes de uma amostra representativa de crianças norueguesas das séries 8-9 (13 e 14 anos aproximadamente), para investigar a vitimização por bullying e associações com sintomas de TEPT. Como resultados principais, os autores constataram que havia uma associação entre a frequência de exposição a bullying e sintomatologia de TEPT, sendo que 33,7% dos estudantes que sofreram bullying apresentaram escores significativos para o transtorno.…”

“…Como resultados principais, os autores constataram que havia uma associação entre a frequência de exposição a bullying e sintomatologia de TEPT, sendo que 33,7% dos estudantes que sofreram bullying apresentaram escores significativos para o transtorno. Segundo Idsoe et al (2012), os resultados indicam que a exposição ao bullying é um potencial fator de risco para o desenvolvimento de sintomas de TEPT entre os estudantes vitimizados.…”

Victimization and PTSD in Ugandan Youth

“…The few studies that have been conducted yield results that suggest that bullying although not in line with the DSM criteria for PTSD does significantly increase the risk of a PTSD diagnosis. In a Norwegian national sample of 8 th and 9 th graders it was found that 27.6% of boys and 40% of boys who had been bullied met criteria for PTSD [51]. Bullying could be perceived as more threatening in Uganda than in Europe due to the emphasis placed on family and group for survival.…”

How and Why is Autism Spectrum Disorder Misdiagnosed in Adult Patients? - From Diagnostic Problem to Management for Adjustment -

“…As additional reason, abuse experiences also seem to be an important risk factor for psychosis [65,66], since individuals with ASD are at an elevated risk for abuse [67,68] and report physical abuse (19%) in their childhood [69] or sexual abuse (40%) in women with higher levels of autistic traits [68]. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often results from psychological trauma, such as childhood experiences with bullying and abuse [70][71][72]. Interestingly, the prevalence of PTSD is also higher (11% to 17%) in individuals with ASD [10, 68,73] than in the general population (0.3% to 6.1%) [74].…”