title: Trends in bullying victimization in Scottish adolescents 1994-2014: changing associations with mental well-being.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Bullying victimization among schoolchildren is a major public health concern. This paper aims to analyse the changing associations over two decades between bullying victimization and mental well-being in a representative Scottish schoolchildren sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected in six rounds of the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in Scotland, with 42,312 adolescents (aged 11, 13 and 15 years). Logistic and linear regressions were used to examine changes in the association between bullying victimization and mental well-being.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of bullying victimization rates in Scotland increased between 1994 and 2014 for most age-gender groups, apart from 13-year-old boys and 15-year-old girls. Over time, female victims reported less confidence and happiness and more psychological complaints than their non-bullied counterparts. This worsening effect over time was not observed in boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, our evidence indicates that the associations between bullying victimization and poor mental well-being strengthened overtime for bullied girls. This finding might partly explain the observed deterioration in mental health indicators among Scottish adolescent girls.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU), Medical and Biological Sciences Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK. apc8@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cosma
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU), Medical and Biological Sciences Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, FifeKY16 9TF, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Fergus
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neville
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU), Medical and Biological Sciences Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Dorothy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Currie
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit (CAHRU), Medical and Biological Sciences Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Inchley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D058445:Bullying / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000639:trends*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D015995:Prevalence; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Bullying victimization; Confidence; Happiness; Mental well-being; Time trends