TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - School bullying and its association with health and lifestyle among schoolchildren
JO  - Medicina (Lithuania)
A1  - Zaborskis, Apolinaras
A1  - Vareikiene, Inga
SP  - 232
EP  - 239
VL  - 44
IS  - 3
N2  - The purpose of the study was to assess the association of bullying and being bullied with indicators of subjective health and problem behaviors among schoolchildren aged 11-15 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The data of the anonymous survey of 5645 filth-, seventh-, and ninth-grade students (aged 11, 13, and 15 years, respectively), conducted in the spring of 2002, were analyzed. The students completed the World Health Organization's Health Behavior in School-aged Children questionnaire that included self-report of involvement in bullying and being bullied by others as well as subjective health and well-being estimates, health complains (headache, stomachache, back pain, anxiety, etc.), and problem behaviors (smoking, alcohol and drug use, suicidal ideation). The response rate was 95%. RESULTS: More than half (52.3%) of students were involved in bullying process at least two times per month: 17.9% were involved as bullies ("victims"), 18.3% were bullied ("aggressors"), and 16.1% bullied others and were bullied themselves. A significant association between experiencing bullying and adverse health outcomes was found. Perpetrating bullying increased the odds of smoking, alcohol and drug use. Perpetrating and/or experiencing bullying increased the risk of high suicidal ideation that had cumulative effect. The established associations varied between genders and groups of students defined as "victims," "aggressors," and "victims/aggressors." CONCLUSIONS: In Lithuania, school bullying is extremely prevalent and is associated with health disorders, poorer well-being, and problem behavior of schoolchildren. Urgent antibullying efforts, including both research and preventive measures, are needed in order to deal with this social phenomenon.     <p></p>    <p>Language: lt</p>
LA  - lt
SN  - 1010-660X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -