Association between bullying behavior, perceived school safety, and self-cutting: a Japanese population-based school survey.

Abstract

No previous population-based studies have examined associations between self-cutting, perceived school safety, and bullying behavior among East Asian adolescents. We examined whether bullying, victimization, and perceived school safety were associated with self-cutting by getting 1865 students with a mean age of 13.9years (standard deviation 0.2years) to complete questions on these variables. Psychiatric problems were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 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. 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.