Verbal school bullying and life satisfaction among Brazilian adolescents: Profiles of the aggressor and the victim

BackgroundBullying is a common occurrence in adolescence that may damage the physical and emotional health.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to analyze the profile of the adolescent aggressor only, aggressor/victim, victim only, and those not involved in verbal school bullying, and to associate their profiles with life satisfaction and familial characteristics evaluated through socioeconomic status.Subjects and methodsA cross-sectional study was carried out with 366 Brazilian adolescents between 13 and 15 years. Verbal school bullying was identified using the Brazilian National School-Based Adolescent Health Survey (PeNSE) questionnaire. The life satisfaction of the adolescents was assessed using the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Adolescents (MLSSA). Statistical analyses involved the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Poisson regression with robust variance.ResultsSixty-six adolescents (18%) were aggressors, 5.5% were victims, 2.7% were both aggressor and victim, and 73.8% were not involved in verbal school bullying. Most aggressors were male (PR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.23–3.14) and were satisfied with their family life (PR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.18–3.8). Victims of verbal school bullying exhibited a low prevalence of non-violence (PR = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.09–0.64). Those who were both aggressors and victims were associated with factors of family support (PR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.07–0.89) and self-efficacy (PR = 6.29, 95% CI: 1.54–25.6). Most of the adolescents who were not involved in verbal school bullying were female (PR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.16–1.51).ConclusionsBoys tend to be aggressors and girls tend not to get involved in verbal school bullying. Family satisfaction, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and levels of violence are important factors that can influence the profile of adolescents in relation to verbal school bullying.