Traditional Bullying And Cyberbullying Among Chinese Middle School Students

ObjectiveThe objectives were to determine the prevalence and risk factors of traditional bullying and cyberbullying in Chinese middle school children,to investigate the overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying,and to explore the association between bullying and psychosomatic symptoms.Methods(1)Quantitative studyThis cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and rural areas in Chongqing,Henan and Zhejiang provinces,from May to September,2018.Eleven schools in total participated.Stratified cluster sampling was used when selecting classes in each grade of each school.A self-completion questionnaire was completed by students in the classroom setting.The questionnaire is about: sociodemographic and background information;different items of involving in traditional school bullying;different items of involving in cyberbullying;the association between involvement in bullying and psychosomatic symptoms.(2)Qualitative studyThe qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted among adolescent students who had experience of traditional school bullying and cyberbullying.Snowball sampling was used to select 40 interviewees,including bullies,victims,and witnesses,in urban and rural areas of the above three provinces.We used thematic analysis to learn about: what happens in a bullying event;the causes and results of the events;the emotional feelings and help-seeking strategies of victims;school policies and preventive measures of bullying.ResultsQuantitative survey found that there were 3774 completed questionnaires: the mean age of respondents was 13.58(SD 0.87).For traditional bullying,1332(35.6%)identified as victims,and 341(9.5%)as perpetrators.For cyberbullying,1170(31.4%)identified as victims,and 622(16.6%)as perpetrators.Among the four main categories of bullying: traditional bullies and traditional victims,cyber bullies and cyber victims,some children belonged to more than one group,that is they were both bullies and victims,or they were involved in both traditional and cyber bullying.Of the participants,645(17%)were traditional and cyber victims,169(4.5%)were traditional and cyber bullies,200(5.3%)were traditional bullies and victims,434(11.5%)were cyber bullies and victims.After controlling for confounders,traditional victims were more likely to be male,in boarding schools,with poor academic performance,a poor paternal relationship,and a poor maternal relationship.Traditional bullies were more likely to be male,with a poor paternal relationship,and a poor maternal relationship.Cyber victims were more likely to be male,attending boarding schools,with a poor paternal relationship,and a fair maternal relationship.Cyber bullies were more likely to be male,at boarding schools,with a poor paternal relationship and a poor maternal relationship.In terms of psychosomatic symptoms,491(13.3%)reported they often had headache,607(16.5%)abdominal pain,and 597(16.1%)sleep problems.Compared to non-victims,traditional victims were 1.5 times,and cyber victims were 1.7 times more likely to report frequent headache.Compared to non-victims,traditional victims were 1.3 times,and cyber victims were 1.4 times more likely to report frequent abdominal pain.Compared to non-victims,traditional victims were 1.5 times,and cyber victims were 1.8 times more likely to report frequent sleep problems.The qualitative interviews found that features of victims were: not attractive appearance,weak personality,and migrant students.Features of perpetrators were: older students,student cadres,and keeping relationships with street guys.Bullying can cause several psychosocial behavioral problems.Schools lacking awareness of bullying,unqualified dorm management,and unfairness of teachers could lead to bullying.ConclusionThere is a high prevalence of bullying among Chinese adolescents and it is associated with psychosomatic symptoms.Schools must take measures to raise awareness of bullying,to identify bullies and victims,and especially to protect the most vulnerable adolescents.