Bullying involvement and self-reported mental health in elementary school children across Europe

Abstract

BackgroundBullying behavior is recognized internationally as a serious issue associated with mental health and functioning problems among children. ObjectiveThe present study sought to determine the associations between bullying involvement and self-reported mental health among elementary school children across seven European countries. Participants and settingThe School Children Mental Health in Europe study was conducted in Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Turkey in 2010 using similar methodology to collect cross-sectional data from children, parents, and teachers. MethodsThe study focused on children who had completed the Dominic Interactive and whose mother and/or teacher had completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (n = 5,183). ResultsOverall 14.3 % of children were identified as bullies, 18.2 % as victims and, 19.0 % as both bullies and victims. Despite the low threshold for defining bullying status, children identified as being involved were highly likely to present with self-reported mental health problems: 31.6 % of bully-victims reported any disorder, while 25.4 % of bullies and 23.1 % of victims did. Adjusting for key factors, bullies and bully-victims were significantly more likely to present with any externalizing disorder, while victims were not. Additionally, bully-victim status was associated with significantly greater odds of presenting with each internalizing disorder: phobia (AOR = 1.48, 95 %CI = 1.01–2.19), GAD (AOR = 2.54, 95 %CI = 1.67–3.87), separation anxiety (AOR = 1.88, 95 %CI = 1.43–2.47) and depression (AOR = 2.52, 95 %CI = 1.61–3.93). However, victim status was only associated with GAD (AOR = 1.63, 95 %CI = 1.07–2.48) and bully status with separation anxiety (AOR = 1.44, 95 %CI = 1.07–1.93). ConclusionsThe results highlight the association of bullying involvement and child mental health in elementary school children across Europe.