National data study showed that adolescents living in poorer households and with one parent were more likely to be bullied

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess whether sociodemographic household characteristics were associated with which Swedish adolescents were more likely to be bullied.

Methods: The data were derived from the Swedish Living Conditions Survey and its child supplements from the survey years 2008-2011. The analyses included information on 3951 adolescents aged 10-18 years. Exposure to bullying was reported by adolescents, and information on sociodemographic household characteristics was reported by parents and obtained from official registers. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the data.

Results: Adolescents were more likely to be bullied if they lived in households with no cash margin, defined as the ability to pay an unexpected bill of 8000 Swedish Kronor or about 800 Euros, and if they lived with just one custodial parent. In the unadjusted analyses, elevated risks were identified if adolescents lived in working class households and had unemployed and foreign-born parents. However, these associations were at least partly accounted for by other sociodemographic household characteristics, in particular the lack of a cash margin.

Conclusion: This study showed that Swedish adolescents living in households with more limited financial resources had an increased risk of being bullied, supporting results from previous international research.

Keywords: Bullying; Household economy; Immigration; Single parents; Socio-economic status.