Association Between Bullying Victimization and Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students in the United States

• Published in: The Journal of school health 2015-12, Vol.85 (12), p.833-842
• Main Authors: Hertz, Marci Feldman, Everett Jones, Sherry, Barrios, Lisa, David-Ferdon, Corinne, Holt, Melissa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; adverse childhood experiences; Aggression; Asthma; At Risk Persons; Body weight; Bullying; Childhood experiences; Children; Chronic Illness; Computer Mediated Communication; Conditions; Correlation; Crime Victims; Depression; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression, Mental; Drug use; electronic bullying; Ethnicity; Female; Gender Differences; Grade 9; Health; Health Behavior; Health risk assessment; health risk behaviors; Health risks; High School Students; Humans; Influence; Logistic Models; Male; Mental depression; Minority & ethnic groups; National Surveys; Nursing; Obesity; Physical activity; Physical Activity Level; Psychological aspects; Race; Racial Differences; Regression (Statistics); Regression analysis; Response rates; Risk; Risk behavior; Risk factors; Risk taking; Safe sexual practices; Secondary School Students; Sexuality; Sexually transmitted diseases; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Smoking; STD; Student Surveys; Students; Students - psychology; Substance Abuse; Substance use; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; United States; Victimization; Victims; Victims of Crime; Violence; Youth; Youth Risk Behavior Survey
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/josh.12339

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Childhood exposure to adverse experiences has been associated with adult asthma, smoking, sexually transmitted disease, obesity, substance use, depression, and sleep disturbances. Conceptualizing bullying as an adverse childhood experience, 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data were used to examine the relationship between in‐person and electronic bullying victimization among US high school students and health risk behaviors and conditions related to violence, substance use, sexual risk, overweight and physical activity, sleep, and asthma. METHODS Data were from the 2011 national YRBS among students who answered questions about in‐person and electronic bullying (N = 13,846). The YRBS is a biennial, nationally representative survey of students in grades 9‐12 (overall response rate = 71%). Logistic regression analyses, stratified by sex and controlling for race/ethnicity and grade, examined the association between bullying victimization and health risk behaviors or conditions. RESULTS Rates of victimization varied; 9.4% of students reported being bullied in‐person and electronically, 10.8% only bullied in‐person, 6.8% only electronically bullied, and 73.0% uninvolved. Bullying was associated with nearly all health risk behaviors and conditions studied. CONCLUSION Assessing the broad functioning and behaviors of victims of bullying could enable educators and health practitioners to intervene early and promote the long‐term health of youth.