Evidences of the association between individual attributes and bullying: a cross-sectional study with adolescents from Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of bullying and to verify the association between nutritional status, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and individual attributes among schoolchildren aged from 11 to 14 years. This is cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 975 adolescents attending public and private schools in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Bullying was investigated with a self-administered questionnaire by applying Item Response Theory and dichotomized according to victimization or not. Body mass index (BMI) was classified according to the World Health Organization criteria. Data such as age, school type and location, household income, as well as the education background of the parents were collected by a questionnaire given to the parents. Crude and adjusted analyses were performed using logistic regression. The prevalence of victims of bullying and of overweight/obese adolescents was 13.2% and 29%, respectively. No association was found between bullying and age, sex, school type, mother's education, household income, and overweight/obesity. The crude analysis model indicated that overweight/obese adolescents and those with individual attributes (fat, thin, tall, short, good-looking, ugly, from a different ethnic background, rich, poor, with a disability and/or other) had a greater chance of being bullied. In the analysis model adjusted by household income and stratified by sex, boys were discriminated for being fat, good-looking, ugly, or for having a disability, while girls were discriminated for being fat, tall, short, ugly, rich, poor, among other individual attributes.

Evidences of the association between individual attributes and bullying: a cross-sectional study with adolescents from Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil / Evidências da associação entre atributos individuais e bullying: um estudo transversal em adolescentes de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil / Evidencias de asociación entre atributos individuales y bullying: un estudio transversal con adolescentes de Florianópolis, Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of bullying and to verify the association between nutritional status, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and individual attributes among schoolchildren aged from 11 to 14 years. This is cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample of 975 adolescents attending public and private schools in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Bullying was investigated with a self-administered questionnaire by applying Item Response Theory and dichotomized according to victimization or not. Body mass index (BMI) was classified according to the World Health Organization criteria. Data such as age, school type and location, household income, as well as the education background of the parents were collected by a questionnaire given to the parents. Crude and adjusted analyses were performed using logistic regression. The prevalence of victims of bullying and of overweight/obese adolescents was 13.2% and 29%, respectively. No association was found between bullying and age, sex, school type, mother's education, household income, and overweight/obesity. The crude analysis model indicated that overweight/obese adolescents and those with individual attributes (fat, thin, tall, short, good-looking, ugly, from a different ethnic background, rich, poor, with a disability and/or other) had a greater chance of being bullied. In the analysis model adjusted by household income and stratified by sex, boys were discriminated for being fat, good-looking, ugly, or for having a disability, while girls were discriminated for being fat, tall, short, ugly, rich, poor, among other individual attributes.

O estudo teve como objetivos estimar a prevalência de bullying e verificar a associação entre estado nutricional, fatores demográficos e socioeconômicos e atributos individuais em escolares entre 11 e 14 anos de idade. O estudo transversal usou uma amostra probabilística de 975 adolescentes matriculados em escolas públicas e privadas em Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brasil. O bullying foi investigado com um questionário auto-administrado, aplicando a Teoria da Resposta ao Item, e dicotomizado de acordo com a presença ou ausência de vitimização. O índice de massa corporal (IMC) foi classificado de acordo com os critérios da Organização Mundial da Saúde. Dados como idade, tipo e localização da escola, renda familiar e escolaridade dos pais foram coletados com um questionário entregue aos pais ou responsáveis. A regressão logística foi usada para as análises brutas e ajustadas. As taxas de prevalência de vitimização pelo bullying e de sobrepeso/obesidade foram 13,2% e 29%, respectivamente. Não houve associação entre bullying e idade, gênero, tipo de escola, escolaridade materna, renda familiar ou sobrepeso/obesidade. A análise não-ajustada indicou que os adolescentes com sobrepeso/obesidade e aqueles com determinados atributos individuais (gordo, magro, alto, baixo, bonito, feio, pertencente a outro grupo étnico, rico, pobre, portador de deficiência e/ou outros) tinham maior probabilidade de sofrerem bullying. Na análise ajustada para renda familiar e estratificada por gênero, os meninos eram discriminados por serem gordos, bonitos, feios, ou por serem portadores de deficiência, enquanto as meninas eram discriminadas por serem gordas, altas, baixas, feias, ricas ou pobres, entre outros atributos individuais.

El objetivo de este estudio fue estimar la prevalencia de bullying y verificar la asociación entre estatus nutricional, factores demográficos y socioeconómicos, así como atributos individuales, entre escolares con edades comprendidas entre los 11 a los 14 años. Este estudio transversal con una muestra probabilística de 975 adolescentes inscritos en escuelas públicas y privadas en Florianópolis, Estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. El bullying se investigó mediante un cuestionario autoadministrado, a través de la aplicación de la teoría respuesta al ítem y con dicotomización, según la existencia de victimización o no. El índice de masa corporal (IMC) se clasificó según criterios de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Se recogieron datos como: edad, tipo de escuela y ubicación, ingresos por hogar, así como formación educativa de los padres mediante un cuestionario entregado a los padres. Se realizaron análisis crudos y ajustados usando regresión logística. La prevalencia de víctimas de bullying y los adolescentes con sobrepeso/obesos fue de un 13,2% y un 29%, respectivamente. No se encontró asociación entre el bullying y la edad, sexo, tipo de escuela, educación de la madre, ingresos por hogar, y sobrepeso/obesidad. El modelo de análisis crudo de adolescentes con sobrepeso/obesos y aquellos con atributos individuales (gordo, flaco, alto, bajo, guapo, feo, procedente de un grupo étnico diferente, rico, pobre, con una discapacidad y/u otros) tenían mayores probabilidades de sufrir bullying. En el análisis del modelo ajustado por ingresos por hogar, y estratificado por sexo, los chicos fueron discriminados por ser gordos, guapos, feos, o por sufrir una discapacidad, mientras que las chicas lo fueron por ser gordas, altas, bajas, feas, ricas, pobres entre otros atributos individuales.

The association between self perceptions of psychological well-being and overweight in Brazilian children.

Our objective was to estimate the prevalence and test the association between psychological well-being and overweight in children. We conducted a cross-sectional study using anthropometrical measures and interviews with 1048 6-10-year-old school children from a Brazilian town. Overweight was assessed by the body mass index and included obesity. Psychological data of children and their parents were collected using a face scale. Poisson regression models were used to test the associations and to obtain unadjusted and adjusted prevalence ratios (PR). The prevalence of overweight was of 15.3% (95% CI: 13.2-17.6) and of only obesity was 3.8% (2.8-5.2). After controlling for age, sex, school type and parental overweight, the prevalence of overweight was 52% and 44% higher in children who reported a psychological dissatisfaction in themselves and in their mothers when compared with those with positive self perception (PR = 1.52 95% CI = 1.02-2.28; P = 0.038) and (PR = 1.44 95% CI = 1.00-2.09; P = 0.049), respectively. The study suggests that actions aiming weight control of children should take into account psychological aspects of children and their families.