Citation

Srabstein JC. Rev. Panam. Salud Publica 2013; 33(5): 378-382.

Affiliation

Clinic for Health Problems Related to Bullying, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Children's National Medical Center, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud (PAHO))

DOI

10.1590/S1020-49892013000500010

PMID

23764670

Abstract

Bullying is a multifaceted and injurious form of maltreatment, prevalent across social settings and around the globe. Victims and perpetrators of bullying are at significant risk of suffering from an array of morbidity and dying young due to accidental injuries, suicide, and homicide. This study reviews news reports of nonfatal and fatal injuries linked to bullying throughout the Western Hemisphere during 12 months. News reports, obtained through a Google search, of episodes of fatal and nonfatal injuries related to school bullying and violence from July 2011 through June 2012 that affected children and adolescents (ages 5 to 19 years) throughout the Americas were analyzed. News reports were found of 82 cases of bullying-related fatal and nonfatal injuries, occurring in one year, across 24 countries and dependent territories in the Western Hemisphere, which have a combined total youth population of 225.5 million children and adolescents ages 5 to 19 years. Ninety-seven percent of the victims were between 10 and 19 years old; 60% of them were below age 15, with a male/female ratio of 2:1. News reports of fatal and nonfatal injurious events related to bullying and affecting children and adolescents in the Americas in one year represent the tip of the public health iceberg composing the unknown magnitude of injuries associated with this type of maltreatment. Data on the magnitude of mortality linked to bullying, which would be of the essence in developing public health policies for its prevention, have not been documented.

Language: en