Abstract
Background: Adolescent bullying is a major public health concern in post-Communist countries of Europe (PCCE). We studied the impact of income inequality on the prevalence of and socioeconomic differences in bullying perpetration.Methods: Nationally representative samples of adolescents aged 11-15 years from 14 PCCE participating in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey during 2017-18 years were included. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted.Results: Overall, 71,119 adolescents participated in the survey. About 27.7 % of country differences in bullying perpetration were attributable to high income inequality. Adolescents with low and high family socioeconomic status (SES) had a 10-15 % greater risk (P < 0.05) of bullying perpetration compared to middle-SES adolescents. In cross-level interaction, the risk of bullying perpetration was the highest among high-SES adolescents from countries with wider income inequality (P-interaction = 0.003). The odds ratios of bullying perpetration comparing high- vs. low-SES adolescents ranged from 0.67 in the least unequal to 1.59 in the most unequal countries.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that high income inequality might contribute to school bullying among adolescents in PCCE, particularly those from high-SES families. The necessary political and economic interventions should focus on improving the country socioeconomic environment in PCCE. Moving towards less neoliberal policies and creating a strong welfare state that promotes the population's economic and social well-being and reduces income inequality might be a necessary component of macro-level strategies aimed at preventing bullying among adolescents. Targeted public health interventions might be required for high-SES adolescents in countries with wide income inequality.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102540 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Preventive Medicine Reports |
Volume | 37 |
Early online date | 1 Dec 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2024 |
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Bullying
- Golden youth
- HBSC
- Income inequality
- Neoliberal
- Post -Communist countries of Europe
- Socioeconomic status