Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Physical fighting is a behaviour of concern that puts adolescents at increased risk for injury. The study objectives were to: 1) describe current patterns of physical fighting and fighting-related injury among Canadian adolescents, and 2) investigate potential trends in fighting and fighting-related injuries during the period 1993–2010.
METHODS: Canadian data from cycles 2–6 (1993–2010) of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were used, giving cross-sections for 61,465 grade 6–10 students. Prevalence estimates for physical fighting and fighting-related injury were calculated and described by sex, grade and subjective social status. A trend analysis was conducted across time cycles overall and within subgroups.
RESULTS: A significant increase over time for physical fights was observed overall (ptrend = 0.015) and within female, grade 7–8, and high status subgroups, although further time points are necessary to determine this pattern with certainty. There was a significant trend increase over time for fighting-related injury overall and within all subgroups (ptrend < 0.001). Males were twice as likely as females to report a physical fight (p < 0.001) and fighting-related injury (p < 0.044). There was a significant decreased likelihood of physical fight involvement from lower to higher grades (p < 0.001), and an increased probability of fighting-related injury with increasing grades for three of five HBSC cycles. Subjective lower status was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of reporting a physical fight at all time points (p < 0.001) and fighting-related injury in three of five HBSC cycles.
CONCLUSION: Specific subgroups are more likely to report physical fight participation and sustaining a fighting injury. Understanding the context and trends of these outcomes is informative for public health interventions.
Key Words: Adolescence, epidemiology, injury, physical fighting, trends
Résumé
OBJECTIFS : Les bagarres physiques sont un comportement à problème qui expose les adolescents à des traumatismes. Notre étude visait: 1) à décrire les schémas actuels des bagarres physiques et des traumatismes liés aux bagarres chez les adolescents canadiens et 2) à enquêter sur les tendances potentielles des bagarres et des traumatismes liés aux bagarres pour la période de 1993 à 2010.
MÉTHODE : Nous avons utilisé les données canadiennes des cycles 2 à 6 (1993–2010) de l’Étude sur les comportements de santé des jeunes d’âge scolaire au Canada (« étude HBSC »), avec des sections transversales pour 61 465 élèves de la 6e à la 10e année. Nos estimations de la prévalence des bagarres physiques et des traumatismes liés aux bagarres ont été calculées et décrites selon le sexe, la classe et le statut social subjectif. Nous avons effectué une analyse des tendances globales d’un cycle temporel à l’autre et des tendances dans chaque sous-groupe.
RÉSULTATS : Une augmentation significative des bagarres physiques au fil du temps a été observée dans l’ensemble (ptendance = 0,015) et dans les sous-groupes des filles, des classes de 7e et de 8e année, et des élèves au statut social élevé, mais d’autres points dans le temps seraient nécessaires pour délimiter ce schéma avec certitude. Il y a eu une tendance haussière significative des traumatismes liés aux bagarres dans l’ensemble et dans tous les sous-groupes (ptendance < 0,001). Les garçons étaient deux fois plus susceptibles que les filles de déclarer une bagarre physique (p < 0,001) et un traumatisme lié à une bagarre (p < 0,044). La probabilité de participation à une bagarre physique diminuait significativement entre les premières et les dernières classes (p < 0,001), et la probabilité de traumatismes liés aux bagarres augmentait avec la classe dans trois des cinq cycles de l’étude HBSC. Un faible statut social subjectif présentait une corrélation significative avec une probabilité accrue de déclarer une bagarre physique à tous les points dans le temps (p < 0,001) et un traumatisme lié à une bagarre dans trois des cinq cycles de l’étude HBSC.
CONCLUSION : Certains sous-groupes sont plus susceptibles de déclarer avoir participé à une bagarre physique et subi un traumatisme lié à une bagarre. Il est instructif pour les mesures d’intervention en santé publique de comprendre le contexte et les tendances de ces résultats.
Mots Clés: adolescent, épidémiologie, traumatismes, bagarres physiques, tendances
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: This study was funded by research grants from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) (contract 4500307663) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Team in Child and Youth Injury Prevention. MD was supported by the Empire Life Child Health Research Fellowship and the Queen’s Graduate Award. The Canadian version of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study is a part of the international collaborative study developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The Canadian HBSC Study was funded by PHAC and Health Canada.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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