Parental characteristics associated with bullying perpetration in US children aged 10 to 17 years.
OBJECTIVE
We identified factors associated with child bullying in the United States.


METHODS
We used the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health to examine associations among child, parent, and community factors and bullying perpetration among children aged 10 to 17 years, using bivariate and stepwise multivariable analyses.


RESULTS
African American and Latino children and children living in poverty and who had emotional, developmental, or behavioral (EDB) problems had higher odds of bullying, as did children of parents who felt angry with their child or who felt their child bothered them a lot or was hard to care for; suboptimal maternal mental health was associated with higher bullying odds. Children who always or usually completed homework and had parents who talked with them and met all or most of their friends had lower bullying odds.


CONCLUSIONS
Assessing children's EDB problems, maternal mental health, and parental perceptions may identify children at risk for bullying. Parent-child communication, meeting children's friends, and encouraging children academically were associated with lower bullying odds; these protective factors may be useful in designing preventive interventions.
Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 75390-9063, USA. rashmi.shetgiri@utsouthwestern.edu
Rashmi
R
Shetgiri
Hua
H
Lin
Rosa M
RM
Avila
Glenn
G
Flores
D000293:Adolescent; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003625:Data Collection; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology