Association of bullying with adolescent health-related quality of life.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship between being bullied and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in adolescence.


METHODS
Subjects were a cohort of 805 adolescents with a mean age of 13.6 years (standard deviation 0.2 years). An adolescent questionnaire elicited the frequency of being bullied. HR-QOL was measured using the Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Report Form (CHQ-PF50) and Dartmouth COOP Functional Health Assessment Charts for Adolescents.


RESULTS
Thirty-six per cent of boys and 38 per cent of girls reported being bullied at least weekly. Adolescent psychosocial HR-QOL was inversely related to frequency of being bullied, while physical HR-QOL was not related.


CONCLUSIONS
Peer bullying is an important determinant of adolescent HR-QOL with a negative impact on psychosocial well-being.
Wilkins-Shurmer
A
A
Armadale Community Health and Development Centre, Armadale, Western Australia, Australia. Amanda.Wilkins@health.wa.gov.au
O'Callaghan
M J
MJ
Najman
J M
JM
Bor
W
W
Williams
G M
GM
Anderson
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000374:Aggression; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires