Abstract
Despite the prevalence of the phenomena of peer victimization and bystander behaviors, little data has generated to describe their relationships and risk factors. In this paper, a self-administered survey using a cross-sectional cluster-random sampling method in a sample of 5450 participants (2734 girls and 2716 boys) between 4th and 11th grades was conducted at six schools (two primary schools and four middle schools) located in Shantou, China. Self-reported peer victimization, bystander behaviors and information regarding parents’ risky behaviors and individual behavioral factors were collected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate risk factors affecting peer victimization and bystander behaviors. The results indicated that urban participants were more likely to become bullying victims but less likely to become passive bystanders. Contrarily, bullying victimization was related to the increasing of passive bystander behaviors. Father drinking and mother smoking as independent factors were risk factors for peer victimization. Participants who were smoking or drinking had a tendency to be involved in both peer victimization and passive bystander behaviors. This study suggested that bystander behaviors, victims’ and parents’ educations play a more important role in peer victimization than previously thought.
Highlights
Peer victimization is a popular public health topic all over the world from different perspectives, and the issue may vary in different areas and research settings
The result indicated that urban (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.48–2.23), boys (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.18–1.62), father drinking (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.01–1.42), mother smoking (OR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.48–3.46), smoking (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.30–2.67), drinking (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.24–1.79) and passive bystander behaviors (OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.39–1.94) were raised risks for bullying victimization, while junior (OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.38–0.58) and senior (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.18–0.29) grade were protective factors
By recruiting 5450 participants residing in Shantou City, the current study aimed to address the three following research questions: Were peer victimization and bystander behaviors different between urban and rural areas? What were the risk factors affecting peer victimization and passive bystander behaviors? Do peer victimization and passive bystander behaviors raise the risks for each other?
Summary
Peer victimization is a popular public health topic all over the world from different perspectives, and the issue may vary in different areas and research settings. Many studies on peer victimization have been conducted in developed countries (e.g., USA, Europe and Canada); the prevalence of bullying victimization was between. Few studies have been conducted in developing countries. In 2010, a worldwide health survey showed that the incidence of bullying victimization among 19 low-and middle-income countries ranged from 7.1% in Tajikistan to 60.9% in Zambia [7]. In Asia, the literature reports that about 20.0%–62.0% of school-aged students had been bullied by peers [8], with the lowest incidence corresponding to Guangdong (6.0%) and the highest to Beijing (20%) in mainland
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