Prospective Relationship Of Type And Duration Of Peer Bullying Victimization And Pubertal Development

Objective: To explore prospective relationship of type and duration of peer bullying victimization and pubertal development.Methods: Prospective children cohort from 3 ~ 4 grade students of 3 primary schools was used selected through clustering convenience sample in Maanshan of Anhui Province.Physical examination,student questionnaire and pubertal development evaluation were performed at baseline and one year follow-up.This bullying questionnaire was adapted from Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale.This bullying questionnaire was used to evaluate the experience of different types of peer bullying,including verbal,physical and social bullying.The boys and girls of puberty were evaluated by pubertal development scale(PDS).Then calculate the PDS score.Collect physical activity,sleep time,video time,family economics,self-assessment and other information,and calculate baseline and follow-up body mass index(BMI).According to the peer bullying experience of baseline and follow-up,the subjects were divided into groups without bullying,continuous group,the new group and regression group.Multiple linear regression models were recruited to analysis prospective relationship of type and duration of peer bullying victimization and pubertal development.Results: The average age of baseline survey of 693 children was(9.16±0.62)years old,including 492 boys and 292 girls.A year later,654 students were followed,including 375 boys and 279 girls.The reported rate of baseline bullying experience was 22.8%(158/693),of which 13.1%(91/693)for boys and 9.7%(67/693)for girls,and gender differences were not statistically significant(P>0.05).The reported rate of bullying experience after 1 year of follow-up was 26.3%(172/654),including 15.0%(98/654)for boys and 11.3%(74/654)for girls,and the gender difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).At baseline and follow-up,61%(399/654)of children had no experience of peer bullying,11.5%(75/654)had continued bullying experience.During follow-up,14.8%(97/654)had a new bullying experience,12.7%(83/654)were no longer bullied.At baseline and follow-up,58.7%(384/654)of children had no experience of verbal bullying,14.2%(93/654)had continued verbal bullying experience.During follow-up,14.2%(93/654)had a new verbal bullying experience,12.8%(84/654)were no longer verbal bullied.At baseline and follow-up,59.0%(386/654)of children had no experience of physical bullying,9.5%(62/654)had continued physical bullying experience.During follow-up,14.7%(96/654)had a new physical bullying experience,16.8%(110/654)were no longer physical bullied.At baseline and follow-up,56.9%(372/654)of children had no experience of social bullying,10.4%(68/654)had continued social bullying experience.During follow-up,15.7%(103/654)had a new social bullying experience,17.0%(111/654)were no longer social bullied.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that after adjusting for family economics,self-rated learning scores,baseline and follow-up BMI values,and baseline pubertal development score(PDS)factors,compared to the non-bullying group,the PDS score of boys was significantly increased in the bully group(?=0.249,95%Cl:0.136~0.362,P<0.001).The PDS score of girls was significantly increased in new and continuous groups(?=0.191,95%Cl:0.076 ~ 0.305,P<0.01;?=0.245,95%Cl:0.123 ~ 0.367,P<0.001).Compared to the non-verbal bullying group,the PDS score of boys was significantly increased in continuous group(?=0.161;95%Cl:0.051~0.271,P<0.01).The PDS score of girls was significantly increased in continuous groups(?=0.167,95%Cl:0.059 ~ 0.275,P<0.01).Compared to the non-physical bullying group,the PDS score of girls was significantly increased in new and continuous groups(?=0.176,95%Cl:0.048~0.304,P<0.01;?=0.231,95%Cl:0.107~0.354,P<0.01).Compared to the non-social bullying group,the PDS score of girls was significantly increased in continuous groups(?=0.242,95%Cl:0.092~0.392,P<0.001).Conclusion: Based on a 1-year follow-up survey of children's cohorts,peer bullying victimization is associated with accelerated puberty development among both boys and girls.Girls are more sensitive to bullying victimization than boys.Persistent bullying victimization increases the risk of accelerated pubertal development.In summary,peer bullying victimization,as one of the common chronic stress in children and adolescents,warrant further research to verify casual relations between bullying victimization and pubertal development.