Search

Background. Bullying is physical harassment and/or psychological abuse among students at school. In Mexico, up to 25% of the students have experienced violence at school. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of bullying and to explore associated risk factors. Methods. Students of both genders from a junior high school were included and selected from the same population, based on the presence of being a victim, aggressor or victim-aggressor role according to self-reported questionnaire responses; χ² and logistical regression statistics were applied. Results. Six hundred eighty eight students with a mean age of 13.62 ± 0.96 years were included; 20.5% victims, 13.1% aggressors and 27.4% victims-aggressors were identiied. Major risk factors for victims were "have a physical defect" (χ² = 21.59, p = 0.000, OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.82-4.50) and "parents considering bullying a normal problem" (χ² = 30.23, p = 0.000, OR 5.79, 95% CI 2.92-11.47); for aggressors: "preference for violent television programs" (χ² = 10.38, p = 0.001, OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.36-3.62) and "friends who belongs to gangs" (χ² = 31.78, p = 0.000, OR 4.05, 95% CI 2.45-6.71); victims-aggressors present a highlighted combination of risks factors from both roles. Conclusions. There is a high prevalence of bullying at school with a variety of associated risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversitas (17949998) is the property of Universidad Santo Tomas, Facultad de Psicologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)