title: The magnitude and impact of bullying among school pupils in Muscat, Oman: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: Research about bullying among school pupils in the Arab/Muslim population is scarce. This study evaluates the characteristics of bullying and its impact among school pupils in Oman via cross-sectional survey among eighth grade school pupils (n = 1,229) during the academic year 2006-2007. The participants were selected using stratified random selection among 6 administrative divisions of one the governorates in the country. Data were collected using self-completed structured questionnaires. This study found similar percentages of males and females (76%) have experienced one form of bullying, and the majority of the incidents (80%) occurred in the vicinity of the school. In almost half of the cases, the bullying was initiated by a student of the same age or older than the victim. The most common type of bullying encountered in this study was verbal (47.7%), followed by misuse (45.9%), physical (43.9%), and, finally, social isolation/exclusion (22.5%). Although the failure of an academic year was uncommon among victims of bullying, the number of pupils who missed 4-6 and ≥ 7 school days was higher among bullied pupils. If this study will withstand further research, educational initiatives are needed to mitigate the rate of bullying in Oman.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Muna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Saadoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman ; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Yahya M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Al-Farsi
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Syed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rizvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 35, Al-Khoudh, 123 Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3937-8284
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Sharbati
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Jabri
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Sufyan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almamari
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Wafaa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Al-Baluki
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 35, Al-Khoudh, 123 Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9858-5582
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Adawi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D018912:Arabs; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires