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INTRODUCTION: Schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed an increase of 7% in bullying prevalence since 2005. This review aimed to map antibullying interventions in the UAE. METHODS: A systematic search was performed in five electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Eric) using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Review. Studies addressing antibullying interventions and grey literature in the UAE from 2010 to 2021 were included. Interventions were mapped using distribution across key sectors, public health practice levels, and organisation types. RESULTS: Of the 2122 identified papers, only 2 were included. Both articles were published in 2019 and used qualitative methods. From the search of governmental and non-governmental websites, 22 multilevel interventions were included and presented on the three levels of public health practice across the different sectors and target stakeholders. Eight interventions were at the federal level, and six were by private stakeholders. The government funded 59% of all interventions. Four interventions addressed cyberbullying, and three used multisectoral collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: Although the UAE is building capacity for bullying prevention, we found limited knowledge of antibullying prevention efforts. Further studies are needed to assess current interventions, strategies and policies.
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OBJECTIVES: To our knowledge, this study is the first in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to investigate the prevalence of child maltreatment in relation to depressive symptoms and self-esteem. STUDY DESIGN: Exposure to physical maltreatment, emotional abuse and neglect was evaluated in 518 adolescents (86% response rate) randomly selected from schools in Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale and the Beck Depression Inventory were used to measure self-esteem and depressive symptoms by using multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 14.3 years. Emotional abuse was the most frequent form of maltreatment (33.9%), physical abuse (12.6%) and neglect (12.1%) followed. Male sex was a positive predictor of physical abuse (OR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.18-3.77), whilst higher maternal level of education was protective (OR = 0.40; 95% CI 0.19-0.86). Daily screen time (OR = 2.77; 95% CI 1.17-6.56) and tobacco smoking (OR = 1.86; 95% CI 1.09-3.18) positively predicted emotional abuse. Emotionally maltreated and neglected participants were less likely to report high level of self-esteem and more likely to report symptoms of depression. CONCLUSIONS: Child maltreatment in the UAE is of a similar magnitude to what reported in other countries around the world and significantly associated with low self-esteem and depressive symptoms.
