Abstract
(1) Background: Bullying affects a large number of children worldwide. This study has two objectives, to provide data on the prevalence of bullying in Spain, and to identify risk and protective factors associated with bullying. (2) Methods: Participants were 858 eleven-year-old children. Bullying was assessed using a short version of the Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire, and the following data were gathered to explore potential predictors: individual (inattention, behavior problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology, traumatic life events), family-related (sociodemographic characteristics, family context, child-parent relations), school-related (school characteristics, peer and social support, school environment) and community-related data. (3) Results: 9.3% of the children were victims, 1.4% bullies and 1.6% bully-victims. Results showed that a higher level of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptomatology increased the risk of victimization, whereas having better relationships with parents and stronger social support were associated with a lower risk of victimization. Children having strong peer relationships and social support was also associated with less risk of perpetrating bullying. Finally, having behavior problems at 8 years of age was associated with being a bully-victim. (4) Conclusions: The findings emphasize the importance of studying all bullying predictors together, regarding three of the roles children may take in bullying situations.
Highlights
Bullying is defined as an aggressive behavior that happens in the school environment and is characterized by intentionality, repetitiveness and power imbalance between the bully and the victim [1].It affects large numbers of children and adolescents worldwide, estimates indicating that between8% [2] and 40% [3] of school students are involved in bullying
Results showed that higher ADHD symptomatology increased the risk of being involved as a victim of bullying at 11 years (OR = 1.49; 95% CI = 1.22–1.82), while having greater autonomy and better relationships with parents (OR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.16–0.66) and having stronger peer relationships and social support (OR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.98–0.99) were related to a lower risk of being involved as a victim in bullying situations
The results showed that having higher scores in family ecology, indicating lower levels of family stress and conflict, decreased the risk of being a victim of bullying
Summary
Bullying is defined as an aggressive behavior that happens in the school environment and is characterized by intentionality, repetitiveness and power imbalance between the bully and the victim [1].It affects large numbers of children and adolescents worldwide, estimates indicating that between8% [2] and 40% [3] of school students are involved in bullying. Bullying is defined as an aggressive behavior that happens in the school environment and is characterized by intentionality, repetitiveness and power imbalance between the bully and the victim [1]. It affects large numbers of children and adolescents worldwide, estimates indicating that between. 8% [2] and 40% [3] of school students are involved in bullying. The variability in prevalence depends on the instrument used for evaluating the bullying, and on the children’s sociocultural. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 4428; doi:10.3390/ijerph17124428 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
