Correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria: Results from the 2011 global school-based health survey

Correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria: Results from the 2011 global school-based health surveyIntroduction: Literature establishes negative public health impact of bullying.Bullies and bully-victims are more likely to engage in a cluster of other delinquent behaviors.Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine correlates of bullying victimization among school-going adolescents in Algeria.Materials and Methods: The study analyzed data from the 2011 Global School-Based Health Survey conducted among in-school adolescents in Algeria.Logistic regression analyzes were used to estimate associations between bullying victimization and selected variables.Results: A total of 4532 students participated in the survey of which 48.1% were males.Bullying victimization was estimated at 51.1% (47.2% among males and 54.9% among females).Males were 28% less likely to be bullied compared to females.Overall, adolescents aged <13 years were 14% less likely to be bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older.Adolescents who reported hunger most of the time or always were 21% more likely to be bullied compared with those who were hungry less frequently.While students who smoked cigarettes were 24% more likely to report having been bullied, those who smoked marijuana were 21% less likely to report having been bullied compared to students who did not smoke.Adolescents who were involved in physical fi ghting were 67% more likely to be bullied compared to those who were not involved in fi ghting.While males who were involved in physical activity were 4% more likely to be bullied, females were 10% less likely to bullied compared with adolescents who were not involved in physical activity.Sedentary students were 10% more likely to experience bullying victimization compared to those who did not have a sedentary lifestyle.Conclusion: Bullying victimization is frequent among Algerian in-school adolescents.This calls for a concerted effort to prevent and control bullying behavior using interventions that are gender sensitive.

openalex: W2066295218 mag: 2066295218