Abstract
ObjectivesKnowledge on risk factors of bullying and victimization among school students is crucial for the implementation of preventive measures. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and correlates of school bullying and victimization and their association with behavioral disorders among preparatory and secondary school students in rural Egypt.Study designCross-sectionalMethodsA total of 476 students from two mixed public schools in rural Egypt (one preparatory and one secondary) were enrolled. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics and correlates of bullying and victimization including personal and social, family, school, and community factors. Frequency of bullying and victimization was measured using the short version aggression and victimization scale. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used for screening behavioral problems.ResultsPrevalence of bullying behavior was high (77.8%) among the studied group, of those 9.5% were unique bullies, 10.5% were unique victims, and 57.8% were bully-victims. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, failure in previous scholastic years (OR = 11.1, 95% CI 1.1–101.4, P = 0.033), witnessing family members using weapons (OR = 6.1, 95% CI 1.1–34.0, P = 0.038), male gender (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.1–5.0, P = 0.027), and mothers’ education (university or higher) (OR = 0.1, 95% CI 0.02–0.7, P = 0.017) remained the significant predictors for bullying. However, only having a drug addict friend (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1–5.4, P = 0.025) was the significant predictor for victimization. The independent predictors for being bully-victims in order of importance were exposure to physical violence in the street (OR = 5.1, 95% CI 1.2–22.7, P = 0.031), male gender (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.8–5.6, P < 0.001), witnessing fights (OR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.7–5.7, P < 0.001) and insulting words (OR = 2.5, 95% CI 1.3–4.7, P = 0.007) among family members, exposure to insulting words in the street (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.2–3.7, P = 0.010), watching violent movies (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.2–3.4, P = 0.008), and younger age (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.6–0.8, P < 0.001).The self-reported SDQ revealed that the conduct problems scale scored significantly higher among bully-victims (2.8 ± 1.7 vs. 2.3 ± 1.6, P = 0.004).ConclusionsPrevalence of bullying behavior was high among rural adolescent school students. Establishment of a bullying prevention committee at school including all school personnel for addressing different factors associated with bullying behavior is recommended. Further follow-up and psychiatric assessment of students for predicting those prone to behavioral abnormalities are also recommended.
Highlights
Violence in schools is a universal social problem which probably designates the most obvious form of juvenile violence manifested in the form of bullying and victimization which can exist regardless of the geographic location, socioeconomic status, and type of school [1]
3 Results A total of 476 preparatory and secondary rural school students aged 12–18 years with a mean of 14.4 ± 1.8 years were enrolled for this study
370 students reported that they have been involved in some form of bullying in the past week
Summary
Violence in schools is a universal social problem which probably designates the most obvious form of juvenile violence manifested in the form of bullying and victimization which can exist regardless of the geographic location, socioeconomic status, and type of school [1]. Involvement in school bullying poses a serious threat to the physical and psychological well-being of children [5]; victims are at increased risk of psychosomatic complaints such as headaches and abdominal pain, low selfesteem, and mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, loneliness, and suicide attempts, while bullies and bully-victims tend to have behavioral problems, delinquencies like alcohol and substance abuse, antisocial behavior, and criminal behavior later in life [6] Both victims and bullies are more likely to be rejected by their peers and to have poor academic achievement at school [7]
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