Citation

Brunstein Klomek A. EClinicalMedicine 2020; 22: e100328.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100328

PMID

32510045 PMCID

Abstract

Bullying victimization is a highly prevalent and challenging prob- lem. Most of our knowledge regarding bullying comes from the west- ern world and therefore studies like the one by Biswas et al. [1] are extremely important in shedding light on the international preva- lence of this phenomenon. This was the first study to comprehen- sively estimate the pervasiveness of victimization and its association with peer and parental support among adolescents across 83 low- and middle- income to high- income countries. Results indicated that nearly one- third of the adolescents studied had experienced victimization by bullying in the last 30 days prior to the study. This finding, however, included adolescents who reported being victimized on “one or more days”. The prevalence of bullying may be lower when we examine only those who are frequently involved [2].

The most significant finding of the current study was that in all countries surveyed, parental and peer support were protective against victimization. No matter what the countries’ socioeconomic level was or its cultural norms, all victimized adolescents were and are in need of both parental and peer support. Parents, school staff and mental health providers should be knowledgeable about the dif- ference it makes when an adolescent has been victimized but has received social support. They should learn how to best provide support to a victimized adolescent which is not trivial as it seems. Simi- larly, we should make sure that all victims know how to obtain support when it is needed.
Unfortunately, many adolescents in need do not know how to adaptively seek social support. Increased awareness about the significance of social support in adolescents’ mental health [3] is now even reflected in governmental support. As an example, the United Kingdom has nominated a Minister of Loneliness [4] and I hope to see other countries following suit.

Interventions for victimized adolescents should specifically include practicing skills to increase social support and reduce loneliness ...

Language: en