Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis
Abstract Background Bullying has been identified as a risk factor for many issues among adolescents. Although it was already considered a public health issue in Brazil before the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic and associated public health measures have affected bullying be...
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21391-6 |
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| author | Bruno Nunes de Oliveira Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa Gabrielli Thais de Mello Gabriel Pereira Maciel Kelly Samara Silva |
| author_facet | Bruno Nunes de Oliveira Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa Gabrielli Thais de Mello Gabriel Pereira Maciel Kelly Samara Silva |
| author_sort | Bruno Nunes de Oliveira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Bullying has been identified as a risk factor for many issues among adolescents. Although it was already considered a public health issue in Brazil before the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic and associated public health measures have affected bullying behavior. Objective To explore changes in bullying victimization and perpetration among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022. Methods This study utilizes data from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Lifestyle (ELEVA), employing a repeated cross-sectional with a nested cohort design. Adolescents (n = 1.987, 50.2% female, mean age 16.4 years) answered a questionnaire and bullying-related information were extracted from two different questions for victims and perpetrators. Multilevel logistic regression models were used. Results Bullying victimization decreased from 46% (95% CI: 40-52%) in 2019 to 30% (95% CI: 24-36%) in 2022 (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30–0.69, p < 0.05) in the longitudinal sample. Stable prevalences of bullying victimization (44% in 2019, 40% in 2022, p = 0.090) and perpetration (9.7% in 2019. 8.7% in 2022, p = 0.5) were observed within the repeated cross-sectional sample. Conclusion This study found a significant decrease in bullying victimization among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022 in the longitudinal sample, which coincides with the decrease in bullying behavior associated with getting older. However, the prevalence of bullying victimization and perpetration remained relatively stable and high in the repeated cross-sectional sample. These findings highlight the need for effective policies and interventions to prevent bullying among high school students. Additionally, providing resources and support for students experiencing bullying could be beneficial. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-069220797bc04ef2a19bf4cb4a2eec8b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-069220797bc04ef2a19bf4cb4a2eec8b2025-02-09T12:58:05ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-01-012511810.1186/s12889-025-21391-6Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysisBruno Nunes de Oliveira0Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes1Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa2Gabrielli Thais de Mello3Gabriel Pereira Maciel4Kelly Samara Silva5Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Santa CatarinaHealthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research InstituteDepartment of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill UniversityInstitute for Advancing Health Through Agriculture, Texas A&M AgriLife ResearchDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Santa CatarinaDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Santa CatarinaAbstract Background Bullying has been identified as a risk factor for many issues among adolescents. Although it was already considered a public health issue in Brazil before the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic and associated public health measures have affected bullying behavior. Objective To explore changes in bullying victimization and perpetration among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022. Methods This study utilizes data from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Lifestyle (ELEVA), employing a repeated cross-sectional with a nested cohort design. Adolescents (n = 1.987, 50.2% female, mean age 16.4 years) answered a questionnaire and bullying-related information were extracted from two different questions for victims and perpetrators. Multilevel logistic regression models were used. Results Bullying victimization decreased from 46% (95% CI: 40-52%) in 2019 to 30% (95% CI: 24-36%) in 2022 (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30–0.69, p < 0.05) in the longitudinal sample. Stable prevalences of bullying victimization (44% in 2019, 40% in 2022, p = 0.090) and perpetration (9.7% in 2019. 8.7% in 2022, p = 0.5) were observed within the repeated cross-sectional sample. Conclusion This study found a significant decrease in bullying victimization among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022 in the longitudinal sample, which coincides with the decrease in bullying behavior associated with getting older. However, the prevalence of bullying victimization and perpetration remained relatively stable and high in the repeated cross-sectional sample. These findings highlight the need for effective policies and interventions to prevent bullying among high school students. Additionally, providing resources and support for students experiencing bullying could be beneficial.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21391-6Bullying victimizationBullying perpetrationLongitudinal studiesSchoolsPandemic |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Nunes de Oliveira Marcus Vinicius Veber Lopes Bruno Gonçalves Galdino da Costa Gabrielli Thais de Mello Gabriel Pereira Maciel Kelly Samara Silva Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis BMC Public Health Bullying victimization Bullying perpetration Longitudinal studies Schools Pandemic |
| title | Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis |
| title_full | Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis |
| title_fullStr | Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis |
| title_short | Bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional and prospective analysis |
| title_sort | bullying in adolescents across three years in the context of the covid 19 pandemic a repeated cross sectional and prospective analysis |
| topic | Bullying victimization Bullying perpetration Longitudinal studies Schools Pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21391-6 |
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