Correlates of Bullying Victimization among In-School Adolescents in the 2005 Botswana Global School-Based Health Survey

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-1-2013

Keywords

Bullying, Truancy, Teenagers, Gender, Confidence intervals, Zambia, Botswana

Abstract

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 Batswana 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.

Journal Title

International Journal of Child and Adolescent Health

Volume

6

Issue

1

First Department

Public Health, Nutrition and Wellness

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