Participation in Bullying and Associated Health Characteristics, Risk Factors and Leisure Activities: A Profile of School-Age Children in Serbia

Milena Santric-Milicevic, Aleksandar Stevanovic, Nevena Popovac, Filip Milanovic, Suncica Dedovic, Marija Zdravkovic, Nenad Bjelica, Ratko Tomasevic, Jovana Todorovic, Zorica Terzic-Supic, Biljana Obradovic-Tomasevic, Vladimir Milovanovic, Natasa Radosavljevic and Dejan Nikolic
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Milena Santric-Milicevic: Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Aleksandar Stevanovic: Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Nevena Popovac: University Children’s Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Filip Milanovic: Pediatric Surgery Department, University Children’s Hospital, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Suncica Dedovic: IQVIA, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Marija Zdravkovic: University Hospital Medical Center “Bežanijska kosa”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Nenad Bjelica: Primary Health Care Centre “Dr Simo Milosevic”, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Ratko Tomasevic: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Jovana Todorovic: Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Zorica Terzic-Supic: Institute of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Dr Subotica, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Biljana Obradovic-Tomasevic: Clinic for Internal Medicine, Rheumatology Outpatient Clinic, Clinical Hospital Center Zemun, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Vladimir Milovanovic: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Natasa Radosavljevic: Department of Biomedical Sciences, State University of Novi Pazar, 36300 Novi Pazar, Serbia
Dejan Nikolic: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and association of school-age children’s participation in bullying, focusing on their health characteristics, risk factors, and leisure activities. We performed a secondary analysis of the original data of the 2017 HBSC study to examine participation in bullying once and multiple times among school-age children in Serbia. For this purpose, a nationally representative sample of 3267 children from 64 primary and high schools in the Republic of Serbia was evaluated. The outcome variable of interest in our study was participation in bullying. Further groups of individual variables such as health characteristics, risk factors, and leisure activities were assessed. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that children who felt everyday stomach pain, irritability or bad mood, and nervousness were more likely to participate in bullying at least once compared with those who rarely or never had such symptoms by 1.46, 1.58, and 1.58 times, respectively. School-age children who reported being drunk two to three times, and four or more times in life were more likely to participate in bullying than those who reported never being drunk by 1.53 and 1.74 times, respectively. Children who reported to watch TV or other media for five or more hours per day were 2.34 times more likely to be involved in bullying at least once. Multiple regression analysis showed that students with daily stomach pain, back pain, nervousness, and dizziness were more likely to be involved in multiple bullying by 1.16, 1.62, 1.82, and 1.70 times, respectively. Students who had nightly meetings or reported being drunk four or more times in the last 30 days were more likely to be involved in multiple bullying by 2.54 and 3.47, respectively. Students who reported playing games five or more times per day were 2.70 times more likely to be involved in this multiple bullying. This study highlights the importance of professional and family education programmes for early identification of specific health symptoms in the pediatric population, as well as integration with interventions aimed at reducing alcohol abuse among school-age children.

Keywords: health characteristics; risk factors; leisure activities; bullying; children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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