摘要：Objectives. We examined the socioeconomic distribution of adolescent exposure to bullying internationally and documented the contribution of the macroeconomic environment. Methods. We used an international survey of 162 305 students aged 11, 13, and 15 years from nationally representative samples of 5998 schools in 35 countries in Europe and North America for the 2001–2002 school year. The survey used standardized measures of exposure to bullying and socioeconomic affluence. Results. Adolescents from families of low affluence reported higher prevalence of being victims of bullying (odds ratio [OR] = 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10, 1.16). International differences in prevalence of exposure to bullying were not associated with the economic level of the country (as measured by gross national income) or the school, but wide disparities in affluence at a school and large economic inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) at the national level were associated with an increased prevalence of exposure to bullying. Conclusions. There is socioeconomic inequality in exposure to bullying among adolescents, leaving children of greater socioeconomic disadvantage at higher risk of victimization. Adolescents who attend schools and live in countries where socioeconomic differences are larger are at higher risk of being bullied. Social relations and social interaction are crucial aspects of adolescents’ lives. An important negative social influence among school-aged children is bullying, and several studies have suggested that bullying is a precursor for health problems in childhood. 1 – 21 A recent study showed that boys who are victims of bullying at 8 years of age are at increased risk of anxiety disorders in adulthood. 22 Furthermore, studies show that bullying behavior and victimization continue over time, 9 , 23 , 24 leaving many children exposed to bullying for years. Long-term exposure to bullying has been mentioned as a contributing factor in many of the tragic school shootings that have occurred in several countries. 25 Prevalence of bullying is high in many countries, but there are large variations across countries. International studies with considerable geographic and cultural variation show that between 5% and 70% of children are exposed to bullying. 2 , 26 Being bullied is defined as a deliberate, repeated or long-term exposure to negative acts performed by a person or group of persons regarded as having higher social status than the victim. 1 Although some authors have pointed out that peer and adolescent cultures may be most important for having a high status in an adolescent peer group, 27 others have observed that exposure to bullying is patterned by socioeconomic status. A Danish study found that higher prevalence of physical and psychological symptoms for adolescents from low social class backgrounds seemed to be partly explained by a higher level of exposure to bullying among these children. 28 Most studies on determinants or consequences of adolescent bullying did not consider socioeconomic position in the analyses 3 , 4 , 6 – 13 , 17 , 19 , 20 or regarded socioeconomic measures as confounders in analyses of the consequences. 5 , 15 In 2 international studies of the association between socioeconomic factors and exposure to bullying, the risk of being bullied was higher among adolescents with parents from lower socioeconomic position, expressed as educational achievement 14 or economic affluence. 29 The socioeconomic patterns of bullying at the individual level 14 , 28 , 29 and the large differences in prevalence of bullying observed between schools 8 and between countries of varying wealth and wealth distribution (e.g., Lithuania [bullying prevalence: 39.8%] and Sweden [5.7%]) 2 led to our hypotheses: (1) across schools and countries, children from less-affluent families are at higher risk of exposure to bullying and (2) between schools and countries, macroeconomic differences such as overall economic level and economic inequality may explain part of the variation in bullying prevalence. We know of no other studies that have examined the macroeconomic context of schools and countries in the prevalence and socioeconomic patterns of bullying.
