Bullying victimisation, self-harm and associated factors in Irish adolescent boys
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Accepted version
Date
2010-10
Authors
McMahon, Elaine M.
Reulbach, Udo
Perry, Ivan J.
Keeley, Helen S.
Arensman, Ella
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Published Version
Abstract
School bullying victimisation is associated with poor mental health and self harm. However, little is
known about the lifestyle factors and negative life events associated with victimisation, or the factors
associated with self harm among boys who experience bullying. The objectives of the study were to
examine the prevalence of bullying in Irish adolescent boys, the association between bullying and
a broad range of risk factors among boys, and factors associated with self harm among bullied boys and
their non-bullied peers. Analyses were based on the data of the Irish centre of the Child and Adolescent
Self Harm in Europe (CASE) study (boys n ¼ 1870). Information was obtained on demographic factors,
school bullying, deliberate self harm and psychological and lifestyle factors including negative life events.
In total 363 boys (19.4%) reported having been a victim of school bullying at some point in their lives. The
odds ratio of lifetime self harm was four times higher for boys who had been bullied than those without
this experience. The factors that remained in the multivariate logistic regression model for lifetime
history of bullying victimisation among boys were serious physical abuse and self esteem. Factors
associated with self harm among bullied boys included psychological factors, problems with schoolwork,
worries about sexual orientation and physical abuse, while family support was protective against self
harm. Our findings highlight the mental health problems associated with victimisation, underlining the
importance of anti-bullying policies in schools. Factors associated with self harm among boys who have
been bullied should be taken into account in the identification of boys at risk of self harm.
Description
Keywords
Deliberate self-harm (DSH) , Adolescence , Boys , Risk factors , Mental health , Schools , Child and Adolescent Self-harm in Europe (CASE) Study , Bullying , Ireland
Citation
McMahon, E. M., Reulbach, U., Keeley, H., Perry, I. J., & Arensman, E. (2010). 'Bullying victimisation, self harm and associated factors in Irish adolescent boys'. Social science & Medicine, 71(7), pp. 1300-1307. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.034
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Copyright
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2010, Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Social Science & Medicine. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Social Science & Medicine, [71, October 2010] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.06.034