Abstract
Objectives
Bullying is a form of aggression in which children are intentionally intimidated, harassed or harmed.
The main objective of our study was to determine the unadjusted and adjusted risk indicators associated with physical bullying. The second objective was to clarify the impact of repeated physical bullying on health outcomes–namely depressed mood.
Methods
Every student attending school in the city of Saskatoon, Canada, between grades 5–8 was asked to complete the Saskatoon School Health Survey.
Results
In total, 4,197 youth completed the questionnaire; of these, 23% reported being physically bullied at least once or twice in the previous four weeks.
After multivariate adjustment, the covariates independently associated with being physically bullied included being male (OR=1.39), attending a school in a low-income neighbourhood (OR=1.41), not having a happy home life (OR=1.19), having a lot of arguments with parents (OR=1.16) and feeling like leaving home (OR=1.23).
Children who were repeatedly physically bullied were more likely to have poor health outcomes. For example, 37.3% of children who were physically bullied many times per week had depressed mood in comparison to only 8.1% of children who were never bullied. After regression analysis, children who were ever physically bullied were 80% more likely to have depressed mood.
Conclusion
Most of the independent risk indicators associated with physical bullying are preventable through appropriate social policy implementation and family support. It also appears that preventing repeated bullying should be the main focus of intervention in comparison to preventing more infrequent bullying.
Keywords: Risk indicators, bullying, adolescents
Résumé
Objectifs
L’intimidation est une forme d’agression par laquelle des enfants sont intentionnellement intimidés, harcelés ou maltraités.
Notre étude visait principalement à déterminer les indicateurs de risque, ajustés et non ajustés, associés à l’intimidation physique. Notre deuxième objectif était de clarifier les répercussions des brimades physiques répétées sur les résultats de santé–à savoir, l’humeur dépressive.
Méthode
Nous avons demandé à tous les élèves de la 5e à la 8e année fréquentant les écoles de la ville de Saskatoon, au Canada, de remplir le questionnaire Saskatoon School Health Survey.
Résultats
En tout, 4 197 jeunes ont rempli le questionnaire; 23% d’entre eux ont déclaré avoir subi des brimades physiques au moins une fois ou deux au cours des quatre semaines précédentes.
Après l’apport d’ajustements multivariés, les covariables indépendamment associées au fait d’être victime d’intimidation physique étaient le sexe masculin (RC=1,39), la fréquentation d’une école de quartier à faible revenu (RC=1,41), une vie malheureuse à la maison (RC=1,19), les nombreuses disputes avec les parents (RC=1,16) et l’envie de quitter la maison (RC=1,23).
Les enfants qui subissaient des brimades physiques répétées étaient plus susceptibles d’avoir de mauvais résultats de santé. Par exemple, 37,3% des enfants physiquement intimidés plusieurs fois par semaine étaient d’humeur dépressive, contre seulement 8,1% des enfants n’ayant jamais subi de brimades. Après l’analyse de régression, les enfants qui avaient subi des brimades physiques étaient 0,8 fois plus susceptibles d’être d’humeur dépressive.
Conclusion
La plupart des indicateurs de risque indépendamment associés à l’intimidation physique sont évitables par l’application de politiques sociales appropriées et de mesures de soutien familial. Il semble aussi qu’il faudrait axer les interventions sur la prévention de l’intimidation répétée plutôt que sur l’intimidation occasionnelle.
Mots clés: indicateurs de risque, intimidation, adolescents
Footnotes
Acknowledgements: Thanks to the Saskatoon Public School Board, the Greater Saskatoon Catholic School Board, the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan, the Saskatoon Tribal Council and the Saskatoon Health Region. This research was paid for by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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