Association between Community Violence, Disorder and School Environment with Bullying among School Adolescents in Sao Paulo – Brazil

Abstract

The role of contextual-level factors in bullying is still not clear, and evidence is mostly from high-income countries. Our objective was to investigate the association between community violence, disorder, school environment and bullying among school adolescents. We used data from a representative sample of 9th grade Brazilian adolescents ( n = 2108) from the Sao Paulo Project for the social development of children and adolescents (SP - PROSO). Multilevel logistic regression models stratified by sex were used to assess the association between variables at student and school/neighbourhood level and bullying victimization or perpetration. For both sexes, we found that adolescents who perceived high violence between students and high school disorder were more likely to be bullies and victims. Boys who perceived high community violence and disorder in their neighbourhood were more likely to be bullies (OR3tertile = 2.73 CI95%: 1.57–4.74). Girls attending schools where the principal reported high community violence and disorder in the neighbourhood (ORhigh = 10.24 CI95%: 2.11–49.59) and inside the school (ORhigh = 6.83 CI95%: 1.48–31.56) were more likely to be bullies. Boys from schools whose principal perceived violence between students were less likely to be victims (ORhigh = 0.35 CI95%: 0.16–0.78) and bullies (ORhigh = 0.21 CI95%: 0.07–0.64). Girls attending schools with signs or posters about tolerance/gender equality and about violence were less (OR = 0.12 CI95%: 0.03–0.50) and more likely (OR = 25.88 CI95%: 4.28–156.63) to report being bullies, respectively. Community violence, disorder and school environment were associated with bullying victimization and perpetration among adolescents. Sex-specific associations should be further investigated. Prevention and management of school violence in adolescence should consider contextual-level characteristics.

Conductas disruptivas, situaciones asociadas al consumo de sustancias psicoactivas y aptitud física en población escolar

“…En conjunto, estos resultados se pueden leer desde dos perspectivas. La primera, el escenario escolar puede ser un espacio de inicio de consumo de SPA y, a su vez, el inicio de conductas disruptivas (Azeredo et al, 2022;Silva et al, 2021). Es importante advertir que dicha relación no tiene un efecto causal, pues para esclarecer este panorama se requiere diseños de investigación más controlados y alcance experimental.…”

The association between violent video game exposure and sub-types of school bullying in Chinese adolescents

“…Second, we could not avoid the self-reporting bias and recall bias since some information (e.g., family affluence, family member's relationship, experiences of school bullying in the past year, and students' favorite video games) was collected by questionnaires from the participants. Moreover, we did not consider other potential confounding variables, such as overweight, obesity, sexual orientation, physical disability, and school environment factors, which may moderate the association between school bullying and VVGE in adolescents ( 39 – 42 ). Finally, our study identifying the association between school bullying and VVGE might be constrained by the sample size collected from only one province in China; therefore, future studies with more participants in different regions of China through a multi-center design could be more effective.…”

Risk Factors Associated With Bullying in Context of a Territory Exposed to Armed Conflict: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Research has established a correlation between such violence and bullying behaviors (Guerra et al, 2003; Schwartz & Proctor, 2000). Stemming from the social disorganization theory and the social learning theory of aggression, public space disorders—such as unsafe neighborhoods, negative school environments, armed conflicts, or community violence—are significant contextual determinants of internalized problems and diminished well-being, potentially leading to bullying behavior (Azeredo et al, 2023; Bandura, 1978). These environments foster a tolerance and normalization of violence, prompting adolescents to adopt and internalize aggressive acts as acceptable behaviors.…”

“…These environments foster a tolerance and normalization of violence, prompting adolescents to adopt and internalize aggressive acts as acceptable behaviors. This, in turn, increases their participation in future incidents of school violence, particularly as a result of the impact of violence on cognitive and socioemotional processes (Azeredo et al, 2023; Chaux et al, 2009).…”