Food Insecurity and Bullying Victimization Among 170,618 Adolescents in 59 Countries

Abstract

Background: Bullying victimization can impose long-lasting impacts on adolescent's current and subsequent well-being. Understanding the correlates of bullying victimization and how to prevent its occurrence is an urgent need. Food insecurity, an indicator of low socioeconomic status, may be related to bullying victimization. However, research on the association between food insecurity and bullying victimization is limited. Using a representative global sample, this study aimed to investigate the association between food insecurity and bullying victimization in adolescents and whether the association varied between country income levels, sexes, and age groups.Methods: Using cross-sectional, school-based data by 170,618 adolescents in 59 countries from the Global School-based Student Health Survey, multivariable logistic regression and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate the overall, country-stratified, sex-stratified, and age-stratified associations.Results: The prevalence of bullying victimization was 33.3%. In the total sample, adolescents with food insecurity showed significantly higher odds for bullying victimization than those without no food insecurity with a pooled odds ratio (OR) being 1.37 (1.28, 1.47). Further, the association was stronger in higher-income countries, females, and older adolescents.Conclusions: Bullying victimization is prevalent among global adolescents with food insecurity being a significant correlate. The identification of adolescents with perceptions of food insecurity and remedying this condition may be important to reduce the prevalence of bullying. This highlights the need to design and implement sex- and age-specific interventions focusing on remedying food insecurity and bullying victimization among in-school adolescents by taking country income levels into account.

Food insufficiency and its associated factors: Experiences of in-school adolescents in Sagamu Township, southwest Nigeria

“…In this study gender was associated with food insecurity, with males being significantly more affected than females. This is similar to findings from previous studies among adolescents in both developed and developing countries (Sheikh et al, 2020;Liang et al 2021;Yeh et al, 2021). It may be an indication of the influence of gender norms on the protection of girls from the adverse consequences of household food insecurity.…”

“…This implies that the prevention of alcohol and other drug use among adolescents may very well need to address food insecurity to be successful. Similar to previous studies, there was an association between food insecurity and history of fights as well as bullying (victimization) among the adolescents studied (Peltzer & Pengpid, 2017; Seidu et al, 2020; Liang et al, 2021). These findings buttress the views of previous researchers on the influence of food insecurity on adolescents” psychosocial wellbeing.…”

Exploring the linkage between family financial struggle and children's bullying victimization: Implications for nursing and psychotherapeutic practices

“…Regarding the direct effects, our findings show a positive association between family financial struggle and children's bullying victimization, which was consistent with our hypothesis and previous research findings (Alikasifoglu et al, 2007; Chen et al, 2021; Jansen et al, 2011; Lien & Welander‐Vatn, 2013; Napoletano et al, 2016; Woolweaver et al, 2022). Children whose families are struggling financially are not only lacking necessary economic resources but also experiencing adversities such as inadequate hygiene and food insecurity, which are significant risk markers for bullying victimization and teasing by peers (Liang et al, 2021; Murshid, 2018).…”

Social poverty indicators with school bullying victimization: evidence from the global school-based student health survey (GSHS)

“…It has been found that social factors may also have a significant effect on bullying victimization. For instance, Liang et al reported that adolescents in countries with food insecurity were more likely to be victims of bullying, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.37 [ 17 ]. In addition, Deryol et al observed that countries with high inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (HDI) had a lower prevalence of bullying victimization [ 18 ].…”