Botswana: Bullying Victimization among School-going Adolescents

Document Type

Contribution to Book

Publication Date

1-1-2013

Abstract

© 2014 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Bullying victimization is a major public health problem among adolescents. It is associated with poor academic performance, anxiety, depression and suicidal behaviors. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying among Botswana adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlates for bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Botswana. The 2005 Botswana Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) data were obtained from the World Health Organization. A weighted analysis was conducted using statistical software (SPSS version 15.0). We estimated the prevalence of bullying victimization and conducted logistic regression analysis to estimate associations between the outcome (bullying victimization) and selected explanatory variables. Out of 2,165 in-school adolescents who participated in the study, 51.3% (54.2% males and 52.2% females; p=0.086) reported having been bullied in the last 30 days. In multivariate analysis, bullying victimization was positively associated with physical fighting (OR=2.17; 95% CI [1.73, 2.73]), truancy (OR=1.84; 95% CI [1.35, 2.50]), and alcohol drinking (OR=1.41; 95% CI [1.04, 1.91]). Victimization is prevalent among in-school adolescents in Botswana. Efforts to prevent and control bullying should take into consideration the factors identified in this study.

First Page

11

Last Page

16

Book Title

Children, Violence and Bullying: International Perspectives

Editor

Joav Merrick, Hatim A. Omar, Isack Kandel

Publisher

Nova Science

City

New York

Series

Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Health

ISBN

9781629483450, 9781629483429

First Department

Population Health, Nutrition & Wellness

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