Bullying at school--an indicator of adolescents at risk for mental disorders.
A number of 14-16 year old Finnish adolescents taking part in the School Health Promotion Study (n=8787 in 1995, n=17643 in 1997) were surveyed about bullying and victimization in relation to psychosomatic symptoms, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance use. A total of 9 per cent of girls and 17 per cent of boys were involved in bullying on a weekly basis. Anxiety, depression and psychosomatic symptoms were most frequent among bully-victims and equally common among bullies and victims. Frequent excessive drinking and use of any other substance were most common among bullies and thereafter among bully-victims. Among girls, eating disorders were associated with involvement in bullying in any role, among boys with being bully-victims. Bullying should be seen as an indicator of risk of various mental disorders in adolescence.
Kaltiala-Heino
R
R
University of Tampere, Tampere School of Public Health, Tampere, Finland. merihe@uta.fi
Rimpelä
M
M
Rantanen
P
P
Rimpelä
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors