title: Prevalence and factors associated with physical fighting among Malaysian adolescents.
abstract: Physical fighting among adolescents is one manifestation of interpersonal violence that is an important issue globally, but attention to this problem in Malaysia has been limited. We analyzed data available from the Malaysia Global School-Based Health Survey conducted in 2012. Of the 25 507 respondents, 27.4% reported having been in a physical fight in the past 12 months. Being bullied (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 3.01; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.67-3.39) was significantly and highly associated with involvement in physical fighting. Smoking (aOR = 2.56; 95% CI = 2.20-2.97), males (aOR = 1.77; 95% CI = 1.62-1.93), using drugs (aOR = 1.73; 95% CI = 1.09-2.15), and drinking alcohol (aOR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.24-1.63) were other factors associated with physical fighting. Parental supervision showed no significant association with physical fighting. These findings indicate that more attention needs to be given to bullying at school by school authorities and parents.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia drfatimah.mh@moh.gov.my.
authors.forename: Siti Fatimah
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Mat Hussin
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Nur Shahida
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Abd Aziz
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Hazrin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hasim
authors.affiliation: Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Norhafizah
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sahril
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Global School-Based Health Survey; Malaysia; adolescent; factors; physical fight