Self-reported Bullying Victimization Research Articles

Association between bullying victimization and obsessive-compulsive disorder: a population-based, genetically informative study.

The extent to which bullying victimization is associated with an increased risk of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has received little empirical attention. This longitudinal, population-based, genetically informative study examined whether self-reported bullying victimization at age 15 was associated with a clinical diagnosis of OCD in the Swedish National Patient Register and with self-reported obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) at ages 18 and 24 in 16,030 twins from the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden. Using a discordant twin design, including monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, each twin was compared with their co-twin, allowing a strict control of genetic andenvironmental confounding. At the population level, adjusting for birth year and sex, each standard deviation (SD) increase in bullying victimization was associated with a 32% increase in the odds of an OCD diagnosis (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.21-1.44), of 0.13 SD in OCS at age 18 (β, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.11-0.16), and of 0.11 SDin OCS at age 24 (β, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.07-0.16). While associations tended to persist in the within DZ-twin comparison models, the estimates attenuated and were no longer statistically significant in the within MZ-twin comparisons. These results suggest that the association between bullying victimization and OCD/OCS is likely due to genetic confounding and therefore incompatible with a strong causal effect. Other mechanisms, such as evocative gene-environment correlations, are more plausible explanations for the observed associations.

Personality changes during adolescence predict young adult psychosis proneness and mediate gene-environment interplays of schizophrenia risk.

Psychotic symptoms in adolescence are associated with social adversity and genetic risk for schizophrenia. This gene-environment interplay may be mediated by personality, which also develops during adolescence. We hypothesized that (i) personality development predicts later Psychosis Proneness Signs (PPS), and (ii) personality traits mediate the association between genetic risk for schizophrenia, social adversities, and psychosis. A total of 784 individuals were selected within the IMAGEN cohort (Discovery Sample-DS: 526; Validation Sample-VS: 258); personality was assessed at baseline (13-15 years), follow-up-1 (FU1, 16-17 years), and FU2 (18-20 years). Latent growth curve models served to compute coefficients of individual change across 14 personality variables. A support vector machine algorithm employed these coefficients to predict PPS at FU3 (21-24 years). We computed mediation analyses, including personality-based predictions and self-reported bullying victimization as serial mediators along the pathway between polygenic risk score (PRS) for schizophrenia and FU3 PPS. We replicated the main findings also on 1132 adolescents recruited within the TRAILS cohort. Growth scores in neuroticism and openness predicted PPS with 65.6% balanced accuracy in the DS, and 69.5% in the VS Mediations revealed a significant positive direct effect of PRS on PPS (confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.15), and an indirect effect, serially mediated by personality-based predictions and victimization (CI 0.006-0.01), replicated in the TRAILS cohort (CI 0.0004-0.004). Adolescent personality changes may predate future experiences associated with psychosis susceptibility. PPS personality-based predictions mediate the relationship between PRS and victimization toward adult PPS, suggesting that gene-environment correlations proposed for psychosis are partly mediated by personality.

Income Inequality and Bullying Victimization and Perpetration: Evidence From Adolescents in the COMPASS Study.

Previous research indicates that the disproportionate distribution of income within society is associated with aggression and violence. Although research has been conducted identifying the relationship between income inequality and bullying victimization and perpetration, little is known about possible mediators. We investigated the association between income inequality and bullying perpetration and victimization among adolescents participating in the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary behavior (COMPASS) study. We identified whether school connectedness and psychosocial well-being mediated the relationship between income inequality and bullying behavior. This study used pooled cross-sectional data from 147,748 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from three waves (2015–2016, 2016–2017, 2017–2018) of the COMPASS study from 157 secondary schools in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec (Canada). The Gini coefficient was calculated based on the school Census Divisions (CD) using the Canada 2016 Census and linked with student data. We used multilevel modeling to investigate the relationship between income inequality and self-reported bullying victimization and perpetration, while controlling for individual-, school-, and CD-level characteristics. A standard deviation increase in Gini coefficient was associated with increased odds for bullying victimization and perpetration. Findings were observed among girls; however, inequality was only associated with perpetration among boys. We identified social cohesion and psychosocial well-being as potential mediators. To counter the adverse effects of income inequality, school-based interventions designed to increase school connectedness and student psychosocial well-being should be implemented to protect against bullying.

Target Congruence as a Means of Understanding the Risk of Bullying Victimization among Multicultural Family Youth in South Korea

This study used data from the Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS) to apply propositions found in target congruence theory (TCT) to self-reported bullying victimization experienced by multicultural family youth living in South Korea. Results from a sample of 1,443 multicultural family youth show that indicators of target vulnerability (e.g., depression and acculturative stress) and target antagonism (e.g., Korean ability and perceptions toward South Korea) significantly predict school bullying victimization in the theoretically expected directions. Directly, our results highlight the importance of considering variables specific to children with multicultural backgrounds when developing anti-bullying campaigns. Broadly, our results suggest that propositions outlined in TCT may be useful when implementing programs intended to prevent victimization.

Body mass index and bullying victimization as antecedents for depressive symptoms in a Swedish youth cohort

AimThe bidirectional association between obesity and depression seen in adults is not clearly established in adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal association between body mass index (BMI), depressive symptoms and interactions between bullying victimization and BMI, taking gender differences into account.Subjects and methodsIn a Swedish county, self-reported bullying victimization, BMI and depressive symptoms from 1729 adolescents ( overline{y} = 14.4, 56% females) were collected in 2012 (wave 1), in 2015 (wave 2) ( overline{y}=17.3 ) and in 2018 (wave 3) ( overline{y} = 19.9). Longitudinal associations were assessed using binary logistic regression models controlling for confounding factors. Interaction effects between BMI and victimization on depressive symptoms were also assessed.ResultsWave 1 obese males had approximately six times increased odds ratio compared to normal weight, for wave 2 depressive symptoms. W1 overweight was associated with an odds ratio of 1.5 in all participants for wave 3 depressive symptoms. Victimization was consistently associated with higher odds ratio for future depressive symptoms. We found interaction effects between bullying victimization and BMI for future depressive symptoms with different patterns depending on sex.ConclusionGiven the present findings, bullying needs to be prevented, and, if it occurs, it needs to be stopped at an early stage to prevent future depressive symptoms.

Effectiveness of the kiva antibullying program with and without the online game in chile: A three-arm cluster randomised controlled trial

IntroductionBullying is a major problem worldwide and Chile is no exception. Whole school-based antibullying programs offer an opportunity for preventing bullying at school. The KiVa antibullying program has been evaluated in Finland and other European countries, showing preventive effects on self-reported bullying victimization and bullying perpetration.ObjectivesTo test the effectiveness of a culturally adapted version of the KiVa antibullying program in socio-economically vulnerable schools in Santiago, Chile.Methods We did a cluster randomized controlled trial in 5th and 6th graders at socially vulnerable schools. Schools were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to three groups: full KiVa group (including the online game), partial KiVa group (did not include the online game), and control group in which the regular school curriculum was implemented. The primary outcome was self-reported bullying victimization, measured with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire-Revised version (OBVQ-R). Students were assessed at the end of the academic year (November 2016) and 12 months later at the end of the academic year (November 2017). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02898324.ResultsWe included 39 schools (13 in each group). The baseline survey included a total of 5923 participants, and the endpoint survey included 3968 participants. Participants in the partial KiVa group had lower victimization and lower witnessing bullying at school at the endpoint survey than those in the control group. There was no effect of the full KiVa group. No effects were found for bullying perpetration in any of the comparisons between arms.ConclusionsThe KiVa antibullying Program had small effects in its implementation in Chile.

The association between bullying victimization in childhood and fibromyalgia. Data from the nationwide Finnish health and social support (HeSSup) study based on a sample of 64,797 individuals

BackgroundFibromyalgia is a functional pain syndrome presenting with various psychological symptoms. Several studies have shown that adverse life events are associated with fibromyalgia. The aim of the current study is to explore the association between self-reported bullying victimization in childhood and self-reported fibromyalgia in adulthood. MethodsThe basic study setting is cross-sectional - with focused use of retrospective data - derived from a large on-going postal follow up survey (sample N = 64,797) initiated in Finland in 1998. Only respondents having answered the questions on fibromyalgia in both follow ups in 2003 and 2012 were included (N = 11,924). Severity of bullying was divided into three groups starting from no bullying followed by minor and severe bullying. Covariates having shown statistically significant associations with fibromyalgia in cross tabulation using Pearson's chi-squared test were included in the final multiple logistic regression analyses. ResultsIn our study, 50.6% of the respondents reported victimization of minor and 19.6% of severe bullying in childhood. Participants reporting fibromyalgia in adulthood reported more bullying, and in females alone this association was statistically significant (p = .027). In multiple logistic regression analysis statistically significant associations between bullying victimization in childhood (reference: no bullying) and fibromyalgia were found: adjusted odds ratio (OR) for minor bullying was 1.35 (95% CI 1.09–1.67) and for severe bullying 1.58 (95% CI 1.21–2.06). However, in log-linear and logistic regression interaction models the association between bullying and fibromyalgia was not statistically significant when depression was included in the models. ConclusionsOur results suggest that peer bullying victimization might be associated with fibromyalgia. However, in logistic log linear and logistic interaction models there was no statistically significant association when depression was included. As a result, there is need for further, preferably prospective cohort studies. The findings also emphasize the importance of actions to prevent childhood bullying.

Perceptions of Bullying Victimization: Differences between Once-Retained and Multiple-Retained Students in Public and Private Schools in Brazil

Being retained a grade in school has been associated with a number of negative outcomes for children. It is unclear, however, if being bullied is among them. In this study, differences were examined between retained and promoted students in their self-reported bullying victimization—verbal, physical, and social/relational bullying, and bullying in general. Unique to the study was that those differences were investigated as a function of students being in public or private schools. It was hypothesized that greater bullying of retained students would occur in private schools, where being retained is less common. The sample consisted of 378 students, grades 5 through 9, attending four public and two private schools in Southern Brazil. Retained students in private schools reported greater verbal and social/relational bullying, and bullying in general, than retained students in public schools. Differences in bullying victimization were not found between promoted, once-retained, and multiple-retained students in public schools (due to sample size this was not examined in private schools). Findings suggest the need for interventions that target pre-retention behaviors that may be associated with being bullied. A secondary purpose of the study was to provide evidence supporting the factor structure of the Brazilian Portuguese version of Delaware Bullying Victimization Scale – Student (Brazilian DBVS-S). CFA results supported both a bifactor model and three-factor model, but support was stronger for the latter. Reliability of the three subscale and total scale scores was evidenced by internal consistency coefficients above .70.

Access to a Loaded Gun Without Adult Permission and School-Based Bullying

PurposeGun access and bullying are risk factors for sustaining or perpetrating violence among adolescents. Our knowledge of gun access among bullied students is limited. MethodsWe used data on students, aged 12–18 years, from the 2011 and 2013 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey to assess the association between self-reported bullying victimization (traditional and cyber) and access to a loaded gun without adult permission. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained from multivariable Poisson regression using the Taylor series after controlling for student age, sex, family income, public/private school, and race. ResultsOf 10,704 participants, 4.2% (95% CI: 3.8%–4.6%) reported gun access. Compared with nonbullied students, those who reported traditional bullying (PR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.7–2.4), cyberbullying (PR = 2.8; 95% CI: 1.6–4.9), and both (PR = 5.9; 95% CI: 4.6–7.7) were more likely to also report gun access. ConclusionsAdolescents who experience bullying, particularly those who report both traditional bullying and cyberbullying, are more likely to report access to a loaded gun without adult permission. These findings highlight the importance of developing interventions focused on these modifiable risk factors for preventing self-directed or interpersonal violence among youth.