Prevalence and Associated Factors of Peer Victimization (Bullying) among Grades 7 and 8 Middle School Students in Kuwait

Abstract

Background. Peer victimization (bullying) is a universal phenomenon with detrimental effects. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and factors of bullying among grades 7 and 8 middle school students in Kuwait. Methods. The study is a cross-sectional study that includes a sample of 989 7th and 8th grade middle school students randomly selected from schools. The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire was used to measure different forms of bullying. After adjusting for confounding, logistic regression identified the significant associated factors related to bullying. Results. Prevalence of bullying was 30.2 with 95% CI 27.4 to 33.2% (3.5% bullies, 18.9% victims, 7.8% bully victims). Children with physical disabilities and one or both non-Kuwaiti parents or children with divorced/widowed parents were more prone to be victims. Most victims and bullies were found to be current smokers. Bullies were mostly in the fail/fair final school grade category, whereas victims performed better. The logistic regression showed that male gender (adjusted odds ration = 1.671, p = 0.004), grade 8 student (adjusted odds ratio = 1.650, p = 0.004), and student with physical disabilities (adjusted odds ratio = 1.675, p = 0.003), were independently associated with bullying behavior. Conclusions. There is a need for a school-wide professional intervention program and improvement in the students' adjustment to school environment to control bullying behavior.

Influence of Family Variables on Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization: A Systematic Literature Review

“…The only research that found a relationship between the household composition and cyberbullying perpetration (Le et al 2017) also employed an instrument less commonly used in research (Le et al 2016). On the contrary, studies did find a relationship between the composition of the household and cybervictimization (Abdulsalam et al 2017;Bevilacqua et al 2017;Chen et al 2018;Garmy et al 2018) with instruments that have been extensively used in our study field (e.g., Olweus 1996) or items coming from research studies of recognized importance (e.g., Currie et al 2014;Genta et al 2009). Definitively, it could be concluded that the most reliable results point to a relationship between the household composition and cybervictimization.…”

“…Bevilacqua et al (2017) found that students from single-parent households were more likely to be cyberbullied. Abdulsalam et al (2017) found that children of divorced/widowed parents were more likely to be a cybervictim. Chen et al (2018) discovered that parents' divorce and separation were associated with cyberbullying victimization.…”

“…There were 6 (18%) studies which focused only on contextual family variables (Abdulsalam et al 2017;Çakır et al 2016;Chen et al 2018;Garmy et al 2018;Marret and Choo 2017;Shaheen et al 2018). However, there were 9 more studies (26%) which took into account such variables (Bevilacqua et al 2017;Beyazit et al 2017;Buelga et al 2017;Doty et al 2017;Garaigordobil and Machimbarrena 2017;Gómez et al 2017;Le et al 2017;Shams et al 2017;Uludasdemir and Kucuk 2018).…”

“…The research carried out by Garaigordobil and Machimbarrena (2017) reported that cybervictims had parents with higher parental stress. Finally, Abdulsalam et al (2017) indicated that students whose parents were not from the city of residence (non-Kuwaiti) were more likely to be involved in cyberbullying perpetration or victimization. Being a part of a low-income family was associated with greater risk of being a cybervictim or a perpetrator, and students from single-parent households were more likely to be bullied and cyberbullied.…”

Trajectories of Emotional Symptoms and Peer Relationship Problems in Children after Nuclear Disaster: Evidence from the Fukushima Health Management Survey

“…A study on peer victimization in primary schools showed that boys are more likely to be peer victims than girls; however, relational victimization was most strongly associated with PTSD symptoms among girls, but not among boys [ 24 ]. Another study conducted in Kuwait revealed that boys are likely to be physical and relational victims [ 25 ]. By contrast, it has been known that girls are more at risk for emotional difficulties [ 26 ].…”