Risk Indicators and Outcomes Associated With Bullying in Youth Aged 9–15 Years

Abstract

Bullying is a form of aggression in which children are intentionally intimidated, harassed or harmed. The key elements of bullying include aggression, repetition and an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim. 1 Bullying can impact the physical, emotional and social health of a child. One literature review reports that victims of bullying are more likely to report sleep disturbances, abdominal pain, headaches, sadness, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. 1 A Canadian study reviewing bullying among schoolchildren found that the long-term consequences of being a victim of bullying included mental health problems, criminality, school drop-out and unemployment. 2 Regrettably, a large Canadian study found no reduction in bullying prevalence in a sample of schoolchildren after their participation in a school-based anti-bullying program. 3 In fact, a literature review on childhood bullying concluded that we still need a clearer picture on the nature and prevalence of bullying in North America. 4 As such, the main objective of our study was to determine the unadjusted and adjusted risk indicators associated with physical bullying among children in grades 5-8. The second objective was to describe the impact of repeated physical bullying on health outcomes -namely depressed mood. METHODSEvery student in grades 5-8 attending school in the city of Saskatoon, Canada, was asked to complete the Saskatoon School Health Survey in February of 2008. There were 9,825 youth registered in grades 5-8 in the public and catholic school boards.The bullying survey used was the Safe School Study developed by the Canadian Public Health Association, which was based on a survey used by the World Health Organization. 3,5 This survey measures the prevalence of bullying by asking "In the past four weeks, how often have you been bullied by other students… [physically, verbally, socially or electronically]". There are four potential responses: never, once or twice a month, every week or many times

Peer Bullying in the Preadolescent Stage: Frequency and Types of Bullying and the Affecting Factors

“…Similar studies revealed that boys were physically bullied more than girls and that boys were at higher risk of bullying than girls (22,26,49). Verbal bullying through mocking, relational attacks, and social exclusion were observed more frequently among girls than boys (22,38,49). The results of this study are similar to those in the literature.…”

“…By comparison, girls were more exposed to verbal and relational bullying and social exclusion than boys (Table VI). Similar studies revealed that boys were physically bullied more than girls and that boys were at higher risk of bullying than girls (22,26,49). Verbal bullying through mocking, relational attacks, and social exclusion were observed more frequently among girls than boys (22,38,49).…”

Victimization and Perpetration of Bullying/Cyberbullying: Connections with Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Childhood Stress

“…The results obtained on face-to-face bullying confirm the studies finding that bullying victims suffer from depression (Lemstra et al, 2012;Price et al, 2013), although they contradict the results of the study by Forlim et al (2014), who did not find depression in pure victims, although aggressive-victims did present depression. The discrepant results of the Forlim et al's (2014) study may be related to the characteristics of their sample because their participants presented high social vulnerability.…”

“…In general, studies have shown that victims of bullying present more physical and psychosomatic problems (Cassidy, 2009;Fekkes, Pijpers, Frediks, Vogels, & Verloove-Vanhorick, 2006;Modin, Låftman, & Östberg, 2015;Vernberg, Nelson, Fonagy, & Twemlow, 2011), more depression (Lemstra, Nielsen, Rogers, Thompson, & Moraros , 2012;Price, Chin, Higa-McMillan, Kim, & Frueh, 2013), suicidal ideation (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010), anxiety (Price et al, 2013), social anxiety (Pabian & Vandebosch, 2016), self-perceived stress (Williams, Turner-Henson, Davis, & Soistmann, 2017), low academic performance (Garaigordobil, 2013), and more mental health problems (Bannink, Broeren, van de Looij-Jansen, de Waart, & Raat 2014). Nevertheless, the study of Forlim, Stelko-Pereira, and Williams (2014) did not find depression in pure victims, although it did find depressive symptoms in aggressive-victims.…”

Assessment and Management of Bullied Children in the Emergency Department

“…Studies have demonstrated an increased prevalence of bullying in disadvantaged neighborhoods. 111–118 Similarly, there is a higher risk of behavioral problems associated with unfavorable neighborhood conditions. 63 A higher level of social support in a friendly neighborhood may lower involvement in bullying.…”