Bullying, health complaints, and self-rated health among school-aged children and adolescents.

• Published in: Journal of International Medical Research
• Main Authors: Hansson, Erika, Garmy, Pernilla, Vilhjálmsson, Rúnar, Kristjánsdóttir, Gudrún
• Other Authors: 1Faculty of Education, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden. 2Faculty of Health Sciences, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden. 3Clinical Health Promotion Centre, Medical Faculty, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. 4Faculty of Nursing, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland. 5Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2020
• Subjects: Bullying; adolescents; depressive symptoms; dizziness; school-aged children; self-reported health; sleeping difficulties; Einelti; Börn; Líðan; Diagnostic Self Evaluation; Adolescent; Child; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/621378; https://doi.org/10.1177/0300060519895355

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Download Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine whether health complaints and self-reported health were associated with bullying victimization in a large cohort of Icelandic children and adolescents. Methods: In this study, we used data from a school-based cross-sectional survey, specifically, the Icelandic contribution to the international research network Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC). The study population included all students throughout Iceland in grades 6, 8, and 10 (mean age 13 years, standard deviation 1.61). The participation rate was 84% (N = 11,018). Participating students completed an anonymous standardized questionnaire in their classrooms. Results: Bullying victimization was associated with feeling depressed (odds ratio 2.61), having difficulty falling asleep, dizziness, and low self-reported health. No differences were found between sex and age groups. Conclusions: Children and adolescents who are bullied appear to more often experience depression, difficulties falling asleep, dizziness, and poor health; however, health complaints were also relatively high among non-bullied children and adolescents. Bullying prevention measures must be implemented in children’s and adolescents’ social environments. In addition to assessing bullying interventions, further research should focus on methods of enhancing resilience in this population.