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Bullying and Its Associated Individual, Peer, Family and School Factors: Evidence from Malaysian National Secondary School Students

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  • Vikneswaran Sabramani

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia Medical Center, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia
    SV Care Medic Sdn Bhd, No. 58 Jalan PP 16/2, Perdana Industrial Park, Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong 47130, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Idayu Badilla Idris

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia Medical Center, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Halim Ismail

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia Medical Center, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Thiyagar Nadarajaw

    (Department of Pediatrics, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar 05460, Kedah, Malaysia)

  • Ezarina Zakaria

    (Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin

    (Centre for Research in Psychology and Human Well-Being, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia)

Abstract

Adolescents involved in bullying can be at risk of developing behavioural problems, physical health problems and suicidal ideation. In view of this, a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of bullying and associated individual, peer, family and school factors. The study involved 4469 Malaysian public-school students who made up the response rate of 89.4%. The students were selected using a randomized multilevel sampling method. The study found that 79.1% of student respondents were involved in bullying as perpetrators (14.4%), victims (16.3%), or bully–victims (48.4%). In a multivariate analysis, the individual domain showed a significant association between students’ bullying involvement and age (OR = 1.38; 95% CI 1.12–1.70), gender (OR = 1.73; 95% CI 1.47–0.91), ethnicity (OR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.47–0.91), duration of time spent on social media during the weekends (OR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.09–1.87) and psychological distress level (OR = 2.55; 95% CI 1.94–3.34). In the peer domain, the significantly associated factors were the number of peers (OR = 0.69; 95% CI 0.56–0.86) and frequency of quarrels or fights with peers (OR = 2.12; 95% CI 1.24–3.26). Among the items in the school domain, the significantly associated factors were students being mischievous in classrooms (OR = 1.52; 95% CI 1.06–2.06), student’s affection towards their teachers (OR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.06–2.20), frequency of appraisal from teachers (OR = 1.49; 95% CI 1.16–1.94), frequency of friends being helpful in classrooms (OR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.09–3.38) and frequency of deliberately skipping class (OR = 2.91; 95% CI 2.90–1.72). As a conclusion, the study revealed high levels and widespread bullying involvement among students in Malaysia. As such, timely bullying preventions and interventions are essential, especially in terms of enhancing their mental health capacity, which substantially influences the reduction in the prevalence rates of bullying involvement among students in Malaysia.

Suggested Citation

  • Vikneswaran Sabramani & Idayu Badilla Idris & Halim Ismail & Thiyagar Nadarajaw & Ezarina Zakaria & Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin, 2021. "Bullying and Its Associated Individual, Peer, Family and School Factors: Evidence from Malaysian National Secondary School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-28, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:13:p:7208-:d:589020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ying Zhou & Lan Guo & Ci-yong Lu & Jian-xiong Deng & Yuan He & Jing-hui Huang & Guo-liang Huang & Xue-qing Deng & Xue Gao, 2015. "Bullying as a Risk for Poor Sleep Quality among High School Students in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Monika Priyadarshani Wijeratne & Rohini Seneviratne & Nalika Gunawardena & Catherine Lynch & Ingvild Fossgard Sandøy & Truls Ostbye, 2014. "Correlates of Peer Violence Among 13- to 15-Year-Olds in Gampaha District Schools in Sri Lanka," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(3), pages 21582440145, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ihsana Sabriani Borualogo & Ferran Casas, 2023. "Bullying Victimisation and Children’s Subjective Well-being: A Comparative Study in Seven Asian Countries," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 1-27, February.
    2. Nazirah Hassan, 2023. "Deprivation and Importation Measures as Predictors of Bullying Perpetration in Young Correctional Institutions," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    3. Nor Azzatunnisak Mohd Khatib & AbRahman Roseliza-Murni & Suzana Mohd Hoesni & Jamiah Manap, 2022. "Adolescent Connectedness: Testing Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Hemingway: Measure of Adolescent Connectedness–Bahasa Melayu Version (HMAC–BM)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Ezarina Zakaria & Noor Nasihah Kamarudin & Zhooriyati Sehu Mohamad & Masahiro Suzuki & Balan Rathakrishnan & Soon Singh Bikar Singh & Zaizul Ab Rahman & Vikneswaran Sabramani & Azianura Hani Shaari & , 2022. "The Role of Family Life and the Influence of Peer Pressure on Delinquency: Qualitative Evidence from Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-14, June.

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