Peer Bullying in the Preadolescent Stage: Frequency and Types of Bullying and the Affecting Factors

INTRODUCTION: Violence is a social problem that is becoming increasingly widespread among school-aged children and adolescents in country. This study was conducted to determine the types, frequencies and the affecting factors of peer bullying among 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students of secondary schools in a city center in Cappadocia.
METHODS: A total of 3059 students attending secondary schools in a city center and this study sample consist of 1288 students. Prior to the study, approvals from the ethical council and institute, as well as written consent from students and their families, were obtained. Data were collected via individual information forms and the Traditional Peer Bullying Scale by the researcher through face-to-face interviews and evaluated by chi-square, single, and multiple logistic regression analysis.
RESULTS: It was defined that 12.0% of the students were bullies, 15.9% were exposed to bullying, 52.1% were exposed to bullying as verbally, and 13.4% were exposed to bullying as physically. Multiple logistic regression revealed that the most important factors affecting the bullying of students were family structure, liking school, and gender; those factors affecting exposure to bullying were liking school, body mass index, and economical status. As the age of the students increased by one year, the likelihood of bullying increased by 1.2 time. Boys were bullied 1.5 times more than girls, and the students of separated parents were bullied 2.7 times more than those whose parents stayed together (p < 0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: As bullying within schools is an important problem, preventive programs for bullying should be improved and generalized.