Geographical variations in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying and its additive role in psychological and somatic health complaints among adolescents in 38 European countries

Objectives: To explore geographical variations in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying and their in-dividual and additive role on psychological and somatic health issues of adolescents.Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 188,003 adolescents (50.9% females; mean age 13.6 years) from the nationally representative Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2014 survey in 38 European countries. Multivariable linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the role of bullying on health outcomes whilst meta-analyses were conducted to generate pooled regression coefficients.Results: Overall, the prevalence of traditional bullying was 26.9%, ranges from 8.8% in Armenia to 49.7% in Latvia, and cyberbullying was 15.8%, ranges from 5.8% in Greece to 38.3% in Greenland. 1 in 10 (8.4%) ad-olescents reported experiencing both forms of bullying, with the prevalence ranging from 2.5% (Greece) to 21.0% (Greenland). Meta-analytic estimates suggest a significant role of both traditional and cyberbullying in poor somatic and psychological health issues. The additive effect of both forms of bullying was more prominent on psychological health issues (beta 0.70, 95% CI 0.66-0.74) than on somatic health issues (beta 0.50, 95% CI 0.47-0.53). These associations varied across countries.Conclusion: The prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying varied significantly across European countries while their individual and additive links with an increased risk of poor psychological and somatic health issues remain common in majority countries. To ensure both forms of bullying are prevented, a multifaceted approach and particular attention to mental health issues in bullying victims are needed in countries with high prevalence of bullying.

Automated summary

This study aims to explore geographical variations in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying and their individual and additive effects on psychological and somatic health issues of adolescents. The study found significant differences in the prevalence of traditional and cyberbullying among European countries, and both forms of bullying had a significant impact on psychological and somatic health issues. In countries with high prevalence of bullying, a multifaceted approach is needed to prevent bullying, with particular attention to the mental health issues of bullying victims.