Correlates of bullying and its relationship with psychiatric disorders in Lebanese adolescents

Understanding the contextual determinants of bullying behavior is pivotal for effective interventions. This paper describes the prevalence of bullying, its socio-demographic correlates and factors influencing its relationship with psychiatric disorders among a population-based sample of adolescents from Beirut recruited through a two stage cluster sampling design. Recruited participants (n = 510) and their parents completed a battery of questionnaires and interviews including the Development and Wellbeing Assessment (DAWBA) and the Peer Relations Questionnaire (PRQ). We found that around 30% of the adolescent participants were involved in bullying. Younger age, lower family income, lower parental education, receiving private tutoring, having an anxiety disorder and having a disruptive behavior disorder were correlated with being bullied by peers while lower family income, repeating a school-grade, and having a disruptive behavior disorder were associated with bullying others. Several factors including gender, age group, family income, and attending private versus public schools moderated the relationship between bullying behavior and having psychiatric disorders. Our findings thus highlight the complexity of the association between psychiatric disorders and bullying in settings like Lebanon.