ABSTRACT
We used Poisson's linear regression to examine the association between racial bullying (RB) and the initiation of alcohol and tobacco uses after nine months. Two cluster randomized controlled trials were conducted in 2019 with fifth (girls: 50.0%; 10 years old: 82.0%; White: 36.8%; Black: 58.7%; Others: 4.5%) and seventh graders (girls: 49.5%; 12 years old: 78.1%; White: 33.2%; Black: 60.4%; Others: 6.4%) from 30 public schools in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. We restricted our analyzes on two subsets of students in each grade: those who reported no lifetime alcohol use at baseline and those who reported no lifetime baseline tobacco use. At baseline, 16.2% of fifth and 10.7% of seventh graders reported suffering from RB in the 30 days before data collection. After nine months, 14.9% of fifth graders started using alcohol and 2.5%, tobacco. Among seventh graders, the figures were 31.2% and 7.7%, respectively. RB predicted the initiation of use of alcohol (risk ratio - RR=1.36, 95%CI=1.07-1.70) and tobacco (RR=1.81, 95%CI=1.14-2.76) among seventh graders, with race-gender differences, particularly in Black girls (alcohol: RR=1.45, 95%CI=1.07-1.93; tobacco: RR=2.34, 95%CI=1.31-3.99). School-based programs and policies must explicitly address issues related to racism and gender in alcohol and tobacco prevention strategies.
ABSTRACT
Racial discrimination has been associated with worse health status and risky health behavior. Understanding the relationship between racial-based bullying (RBB) - an overlap of bullying and interpersonal racial discrimination - and substance use can guide school-based actions to prevent bullying and substance use, but investigations rarely involve Brazilian students. We used data from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE) 2015, which included 102,072 ninth-grade students from the capital and inland cities in the five regions of Brazil. Students self-reported their race/skin color according to the Brazilian official census. We explored racial and recent RBB differences in recent use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances [marijuana, cocaine, crack, sniffed glue, loló/lança-perfume (ether and chloroform blend)] by comparing prevalence ratios (estimated with quasi-Poisson, crude, and adjusted models by demographic and socioeconomic characteristics) obtained from analyses of imputed data and complete case. We found that RBB prevalence increased according to racial categories associated with darker skin tones; racial differences in the prevalence of RBB were greater among girls than boys. Girls from all racial groups consistently had a higher prevalence of alcohol use than boys. RBB partially explained the recent use of alcohol and tobacco for the minority racial groups and was not associated with the use of other substances. School-based actions should explicitly incorporate anti-racist goals as strategies for substance use prevention, giving particular attention to gender issues in racial discrimination and alcohol use.
Subject(s)
Bullying , Substance-Related Disorders , Male , Female , Humans , Cross-Sectional Studies , Brazil/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , StudentsABSTRACT
The revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (rBVQ) is an internationally used instrument to identify bullying, but due to Brazilian students' low proficiency in reading and writing, it had to be adapted for audio-guided use through smartphones. We investigated construct validity, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), under a two-correlated factor solution. Participated 1,742 fifth graders and 2,316 seventh graders from 30 public schools in the city of São Paulo. We found excellent fit indices models for both grades (fifth grade: CFI=0.985, RMSEA=0.020; seventh grade: CFI=0.990, RMSEA=0.015), as well as factor loading higher than 0.4 for all items, indicating their relevance to the construct. The rBVQ demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and may help future studies that aim to investigate bullying in populations with similar profiles. In addition, this study innovates by evaluating an audio-guided instrument and using mobile technology. (AU)
O Questionário revisado de bullying de Olweus (rBVQ) é um instrumento internacionalmente utilizado para identificar bullying, mas devido às dificuldades de estudantes brasileiros na leitura e escrita, foi adaptado para uso áudio-guiado em smartphones. Investigou-se a validade do construto por meio de análise confirmatória fatorial em uma solução de dois fatores. Participaram 1742 e 2316 alunos de quintos e sétimos anos de trinta escolas públicas de São Paulo. Encontrou-se excelentes índices de adequação para ambos os anos escolares (quintos: CFI = 0,985; RMSEA = 0,020; sétimos: CFI = 0,990; RMSEA = 0,015) e cargas fatoriais maiores que 0,4 para todos os itens, indicando sua relevância para o construto. O rBVQ demonstrou excelentes propriedades psicométricas e pode ajudar estudos futuros que objetivam investigar bullying em populações com perfis semelhantes. Além disso, este estudo inova por avaliar um instrumento áudio-guiado e utilizando tecnologia móvel. (AU)
El Cuestionario Revisado de Bullying de Olweus (rBVQ) es un instrumento utilizado internacionalmente para identificar bullying, pero debido a las dificultades de estudiantes brasileños en la lectura y la escritura, se ha adaptado su uso por medio de audioguías en smartphones. Se investigó la validez del constructo mediante el Análisis Factorial Confirmatorio, bajo un modelo de dos factores. Participaron 1742 y 2316 estudiantes de quinto y séptimo curso de 30 escuelas públicas de São Paulo. Excelentes tasas de adecuación fueron encontradas para ambos casos (quinto año: CFI=0,985, RMSEA=0,020; séptimo año: CFI=0,990, RMSEA=0,015), además de cargas factoriales superiores a 0,4 para todos los ítems, lo que indica su relevancia para el constructo. El instrumento rBVQ ha presentado excelentes propiedades psicométricas y puede ayudar a futuros estudios pretendan investigar el bullying en poblaciones con perfiles similares. Además, este estudio innova al evaluar un instrumento guiado por audio, empleando la tecnología móvil. (AU)
