Abstract
Bullying is relatively common and is considered to be a public health problem among adolescents worldwide. The present study examined the risk factors associated with bullying behavior among adolescents in a lower-middle-income country setting. Data on 6235 adolescents aged 11–16 years, derived from the Republic of Ghana’s contribution to the Global School-based Health Survey, were analyzed using bivariate and multinomial logistic regression analysis. A high prevalence of bullying was found among Ghanaian adolescents. Alcohol-related health compromising behaviors (alcohol use, alcohol misuse and getting into trouble as a result of alcohol) increased the risk of being bullied. In addition, substance use, being physically attacked, being seriously injured, hunger and truancy were also found to increase the risk of being bullied. However, having understanding parents and having classmates who were kind and helpful reduced the likelihood of being bullied. These findings suggest that school-based intervention programs aimed at reducing rates of peer victimization should simultaneously target multiple risk behaviors. Teachers can also reduce peer victimization by introducing programs that enhance adolescents’ acceptance of each other in the classroom.
Highlights
Bullying, defined as a set of repeated behaviors that are “intentional and cause[s] physical and psychological harm to the recipient” [1], includes actions, such as name-calling or teasing, social exclusion and hitting [2,3,4]
We only considered participants who responded to the question on bullying in all analyses, resulting in a final sample of 4 763 (53.0% male)
In the bivariate analyses (Table 2), we found no significant mean age differences across the three categories of bullying or significant differences by sex
Summary
Bullying, defined as a set of repeated behaviors that are “intentional and cause[s] physical and psychological harm to the recipient” [1], includes actions, such as name-calling or teasing, social exclusion and hitting [2,3,4]. Bullying victimization peaks and intensifies during early adolescence [7,8,9]. This is so, because early adolescence marks a period of immense pressure to attain social status or fit in with desirable peer groups [10,11]. Adolescence represents a time of considerable change and possible insecurity, accompanied by social anxiety [13,14]. This may be the reason that so many mental health problems appear at this developmental period
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