Original Article

Bullying and Victimization among Students Bears Relationship with Gender and Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Abstract

Objective: Bullying and victimization are common and serious problems in schools resulting in development of emotional and behavioral disorders in adolescents. This study aimed at examining the prevalence of bullying behavior and some of its associated factors among students.
Method: This was a cross sectional analytic study involving junior high schoolers in grades seven, eight and nine. This study was part of an international study that used a questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The questionnaire investigated some of the characteristics and qualities possessed by most juveniles and some occasional problems which they may experience. Also, it was used to examine participants’ experiences with bullying and victimization. This questionnaire comprised of 15 sections on demographic characteristics, individual health, family status and types of bullying experiences at school and outside of school, along with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which is an instrument for screening emotional and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. A multistage cluster sampling from five regions, consisting of the north, south, west, east, and central regions of Tehran, was conducted and 1456 questionnaires were completed by the students.
Results: According to the results of this study, prevalence rate for bullying and victimization was 17.4% and 25.8%, respectively. The results indicated that gender had a significant relationship with bullying and victimization, with boys being more likely to be bullies and also more prone to victimization than girls (p < 0.001). Other parameters such as emotional, behavioral, and environmental influence also had a significant relationship with bullying and victimization.
Conclusion: Bullying is more prevalent in boys than in girls, and boys are more likely to be victimized as well. Emotional and behavioral problems are identified as risk factors, and future interventions should focus on these risk factors to develop preventive measures.

1. Olweus D. Bullying at school. In: Aggressive behavior. Springer; 1994.
2. Ttofi MM, Farrington DP. Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: A systematic and meta-analytic review. J Exp Criminol (2011) 7:27–56.
3. Bradic MC. A survey study of the perceptions of middle school personnel with respect to learning disabled students as victims of bullying/harassment and the corresponding relationships with bullying prevention and discipline. Electronic theses & Dissertation Center. Kent State University; 2014.
4. Nansel TR, Overpeck M, Pilla RS, Ruan WJ, Simons-Morton B, Scheidt P. Bullying behaviors among US youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. Jama. 2001;285(16):2094–100.
5. Fnais N, al-Nasser M, Zamakhshary M, Abuznadah W, Al Dhukair S, Saadeh M, et al. Prevalence of harassment and discrimination among residents in three training hospitals in
6. Saudi Arabia. Ann Saudi Med. 2013;33(2):134-9.
7. Hemphill SA, Tollit M, Herrenkohl TI. Protective Factors Against the Impact of School Bullying Perpetration and Victimization on Young Adult Externalizing and Internalizing Problems. J Sch Violence. 2014; 13(1): 125–145.
8. Sadeghi S, Farajzadegan Z, Kelishadi R, Heidari K. Aggression and violence among Iranian adolescents and youth: A 10‑year systematic review[ In Persian]. Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). 2014;5: S83–93.
9. Bowes L, Arseneault L, Maughan B, Taylor A, Caspi A, Moffitt TE. School, neighborhood, and family factors are associated with children’s bullying involvement: A nationally representative longitudinal study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48(5):545–53.
10. Baldry AC. Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse Negl. 2003;27(7):713–32.
11. Shields A, Cicchetti D. Parental maltreatment and emotion dysregulation as risk factors for bullying and victimization in middle childhood. J Clin Child Psychol. 2001;30(3):349-63.
12. Atik G, Güneri OY. Bullying and victimization: Predictive role of individual, parental, and academic factors. Sch Psychol Int. 2013;34(6):658–73.
13. Glew GM, Fan M-Y, Katon W, Rivara FP. Bullying and school safety. J Pediatr. 2008;152(1):123–8.
14. Brunstein Klomek A, Sourander A, Gould M. The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Can J Psychiatry. 2010;55(5):282–8.
15. Van Geel M, Vedder P, Tanilon J. Relationship between peer victimization, cyberbullying, and suicide in children and adolescents ameta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2014;168(5):435-42.
16. Case KR, Cooper M, Creamer ML, Mantey D, Kelder S. Victims of Bullying and Tobacco Use Behaviors in Adolescents: Differences Between Bullied at School, Electronically, or Both. 2016;86(11):832–40.
17. Vieno A, Gini G, Santinello M. Different forms of bullying and their association to smoking and drinking behavior in italian adolescents. J Sch Health. 2011;81(7):393-9.
18. Kljakovic M, Hunt C. A meta-analysis of predictors of bullying and victimisation in adolescence. J Adolesc. 2016;49:134-45.
19. Rønning, J. A., Handegaard, B. H., Sourander, A., & Mørch, W. T. (2004). The Strengths and Difficulties Self-Report Questionnaire as a screening instrument in Norwegian community samples. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 13(2), 73-82. Olweus D. The Olweus bullying questionnaire. Center City, MN: Hazelden.; 2007.
20. Solberg ME, Olweus D. Prevalence Estimation of School Bullying With the Olweus Bully / Victim Questionnaire. 2003;29:239–68.
21. Shahrivar Z, Tehrani-Doost M, Pakbaz B, Rezaie A, Ahmadi F. Normative data and psychometric properties of the parent and teacher versions of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) in an Iranian community sample. J Res Med Sci J Res Med Sci. 2009;14(2):69-77.
22. Goodman A, Goodman R. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a Dimensional Measure of Child Mental Health. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48(4):400-3.
23. Goodman R. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note. J Child Psychol Psychiat. 1997;38(5):581–6.
24. Goodman A, & RG-J of the AA of C, 2009 undefined. Strengths and difficulties questionnaire as a dimensional measure of child mental health. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2009;48(4):400-3.
25. Goodman R, Meltzer H, Bailey V. The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: A pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;7(3):125–30.
26. Goodman R, Scott S. Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: Is Small Beautiful? J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1999;27(1):17-24.
27. Koskelainen M, Sourander A, Vauras M. Self-reported strengths and difficulties in a community sample of Finnish adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry September. 2001;10(3):180–5.
28. Koskelainen M, Sourander A, Kaljonen A. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire among Finnish school-aged children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000;9(4):277–84.
29. Goodman R. The extended version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1999;40(5):791-9.
30. Goodman R, Meltzer H, Bailey V. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998;7(3):125-30.
31. Lotfi S, Dolatshahi B, Mohammadkhani P, Campbell MA, Rezaei Dogaheh E. Prevalence of bullying and its relationship with trauma symptoms in young Iranian students. Pract Clin Psychol. 2014;2(4):271–6.
32. Holt TJ, Fitzgerald S, Bossler AM, Chee G, Ng E. Assessing the Risk Factors of Cyber and Mobile Phone Bullying Victimization in a Nationally Representative Sample of Singapore Youth. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2016;60(5):598-615.
33. Wolke D, Woods S, Stanford K, Schulz H. Bullying and victimization of primary school children in England and Germany: Prevalence and school factors. Br J Psychol. 2001;92(Pt 4):673-96.
34. Lara C. Bullying victimization among adolescent students: A qualitative study. California State University, Long Beach; 2015.
35. Luk JW, Wang J, Simons-Morton BG. Bullying victimization and substance use among US adolescents: Mediation by depression. Prev Sci. 2010;11(4):355–9.
36. Jankauskiene R, Kardelis K, Sukys S, Kardeliene L. Associations between school bullying and psychosocial factors. Soc Behav Personal an Int J. 2008;36(2):145–62.
37. Chen JK, Astor RA. School violence in taiwan: Examining how western risk factors predict school violence in an asian culture. J Interpers Violence. 2010;25(8):1388-410.
38. Kubwalo HW, Muula AS, Siziya S, Pasupulati S, Rudatsikira E. Prevalence and correlates of being bullied among in-school adolescents in Malawi: Results from the 2009 Global School-Based Health Survey. Malawi Med J. 2013;25(1):12-4.
39. Meyer D. The Gentle Neoliberalism of Modern Anti-bullying Texts: Surveillance, Intervention, and Bystanders in Contemporary Bullying Discourse. Sexuality Research and Social Policy. 2016;13(4):356–70.
40. Fekkes M, Pijpers FIM, Fredriks AM, Vogels T, Verloove-Vanhorick SP. Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms. Pediatrics. 2006;117(5):1568–74.
41. Muraro A, Polloni L, Lazzarotto F, Toniolo A, Baldi I, Bonaguro R, et al. Comparison of bullying of food-allergic versus healthy schoolchildren in Italy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014;134(3):749–51.
42. Janssen I, Craig WM, Boyce WF, Pickett W. Associations between overweight and obesity with bullying behaviors in school-aged children. Pediatrics. 2004;113(5):1187–94.
43. Li Y, Chen PY, Chen FL, Chen YL. Preventing School Bullying: Investigation of the Link between Anti-Bullying Strategies, Prevention Ownership, Prevention Climate, and Prevention Leadership International Association of Applied Psychology. 2017;66(4):577–98.
44. Brendgen M, Troop-Gordon W. School-related Factors in the Development of Bullying Perpetration and Victimization: Introduction to the Special Section. 2015 Jan 1;43(1).
45. Konishi C, Hymel S, Zumbo BD, Li Z. Do school bullying and student—teacher relationships matter for academic achievement? A multilevel analysis. Can J Sch Psychol. 2010;25(1):19–39.
Files
IssueVol 14 No 3 (2019) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/ijps.v14i3.1328
Keywords
Adolescent Bullying Prevalence School health Victimization

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Mohseny M, Zamani Z, Akhondzadeh Basti S, Sohrabi M-R, Najafi A, Zebardast J, Tajdini F. Bullying and Victimization among Students Bears Relationship with Gender and Emotional and Behavioral Problems. Iran J Psychiatry. 2019;14(3):211-220.