Persécution par les camarades et manifestations anxieuses chez des enfants français âgés de huit à douze ans

Abstract

BackgroundBullying at school and its psychological and psychopathological consequences have been thoroughly investigated in English-speaking countries and northern Europe for more than 30years. Initially focused on physical bullying, the perpetrators and victims of which are mainly boys, the research thereafter focused on psychological violence and involvement of girls into bullying and being bullied. Among the many different adverse effects of victimization, anxious disorders are frequently mentioned. However, little research having addressed these issues is available in France and the aim of this study was to examine the links between victimization and anxiety syndromes. MethodsA sample of 734 children aged 8 to 12years (387 girls) was recruited in schools in the Paris district and Normandy. They completed the 17-item Harassment by Peers questionnaire (in French: Persécution par les Camarades [PPC-17]), a questionnaire assessing three forms of aggression suffered at school: physical violence, exclusion, and insults/mockery, and the French version of the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), which allows for assessment of panic/somatic disorder, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, and school phobia. The probability of having a high anxiety score (>percentile 90) among youths scoring high (>percentile 90) on the victimization scales was compared to that of their counterparts scoring lower than percentile 90. ResultsBoys disclosed having suffered more physical violence and girls more exclusion and insults-mockery. Girls scored significantly higher than boys on all SCARED scales, with the exception of school phobia. All scores of victimization were significantly, positively, and moderately correlated with scores of anxiety problems, with the only exception of social anxiety among girls. The probability to present a high level of anxiety was 2 to 5 times higher among the 10 % children having disclosed more victimization, and this relationship was higher among boys (from 3.70:1 for separation anxiety to 5:1 for generalized anxiety) than among girls (2.87:1 for generalized anxiety to 3:1 for panic/somatic). After adjustment, only exclusion and insults/mockery displayed a significant relationship with anxiety among girls. Exclusion with the total score and social anxiety, and insults/mockery with panic/somatic and generalized anxiety. Among boys, physical violence remained significantly related with generalized anxiety and separation anxiety. Exclusion was related with generalized anxiety, and insults/mockery with social anxiety. ConclusionThough this study was cross-sectional, which does not allow for etiological conclusions, it seems possible, based on the convergent findings of a huge amount of previous international research, to interpret our findings as demonstrating that being bullied is a risk factor that may multiply by 3 to 5 the probability of suffering from an anxiety syndrome.