Involvement in Physical Fights among School Attending Adolescents: A Nationally Representative Sample from Kuwait.

Masood Ali Shaikh,Anne P Abio,Michael Lowery Wilson,Adebola A Adedimeji

doi:10.3390/bs10010029

Abstract

Background: Interpersonal violence in school settings is an important public health problem worldwide. This study investigated the individual and social correlates for being involved in a physical fight amongst a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in Kuwait. Methods: We carried out bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine the strength and direction of associations with adolescent involvement in problematic fighting behavior within a 12-month recall period. Results: Within a total sample of 3637, n = 877 (25.2%) of school-attending adolescents reported being involved in two or more physical fights during the recall period. The multivariate analysis indicated that being male (OR = 2.71; CI = 1.88–3.90), a victim of bullying (OR = 2.77; CI = 2.14–3.58), truancy (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.91–3.32), planning a suicide (OR = 2.04; CI = 1.49–2.78) and food deprivation (OR = 1.91; CI = 1.37–2.65) were associated with an increased risk of involvement in physical fighting. Peer support in the form of having close friends (OR = 0.85; CI = 0.76–0.96) was found to be associated with a reduced involvement in fighting behavior. Conclusion: The results, when taken together, suggest that supportive school environments may represent important settings for violence mitigation and prevention strategies.

Highlights

Violence among adolescents is a global problem of public health significance
We investigated thirteen independent variables to screen for statistically significant associations with the dependent variable; nine at the individual level and four independent variables at the social level
Bullying victimization was reported by a quarter

Summary

Introduction

Violence among adolescents is a global problem of public health significance. Where violent behavior among adolescents is allowed to persist unabated, it frequently contributes to injury, mental health problems, increased risk behavior, disability, and/or mortality [1]. The forms of violence are interrelated with victims potentially turning in perpetrators with time [1]. These behavioral and mental health concerns may extend into adulthood, where they affect the working and family lives [2]. Interpersonal violence in school settings is an important public health problem worldwide.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion