Objective:: To estimate the prevalence of bullying from the perspective of victims in students from the Southeast region of Brazil and analyze its association with individual variables and family context.
Methods:: Information on 19,660 adolescents from the National School-based Health Survey was analyzed, calculating the association between bullying and sociodemographic variables, risk behaviors, mental health, and family background. Multivariate analysis and the calculation of odds ratio and confidence intervals were performed.
Results:: The prevalence of bullying was 7.8% (95%CI 6.5 - 9.2). After adjustment, the following associations were observed: students with less than 13 years of age (OR = 2.40; 1.4 - 3.93); protection for those aged 14, 15, and 16 years; male gender (OR = 1.47; 95%CI 1.35 - 1.59); black color (OR = 1.24; 95%CI 1.11 - 1.40); yellow color (OR = 1.38 95%CI 1.14 - 1.6); private school students (OR = 1.11; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.23); and students who work (OR = 1.30; 95%CI 1.16 - 1.45). Higher education of the mothers was a protective factor in all groups. Risk factors considered were feeling lonely (OR = 2.68; 95%CI 2.45 - 2.94), having insomnia (OR = 1.95; 95%CI 1.76 - 2.17), having no friends (OR = 1.47; 95%CI 1.24 - 1.75), suffering physical abuse from family members (OR = 1.83; 95%CI 1.66 - 2.03), missing classes without their parents' knowledge (OR = 1.23; 95%CI 1.12 - 1.34), as well as family supervision (OR = 1.14; 95%CI 1.05 - 1.23). To have drunk in the last 30 days (OR = 0.88 95%CI 0.8 - 0.97) was a protective factor.
Conclusion:: Bullying increases vulnerabilities among students, which suggests the need for an intersectoral approach in order to find measures to prevent them.