Research project Bullying in the school class: what are the effects on students’ psychological health?

Students who are exposed to bullying, but also those who bully others, have an increased risk of psychological ill-health. It is reasonable to assume that bullying has negative effects not only for those who are involved, but also for the surrounding peer group. A small number of studies have shown that the prevalence of bullying in the school class is associated with more health complaints even when adjusting for exposure to bullying at the individual level.

This project adds to existing knowledge by studying how the prevalence of bullying in the school class is associated with students’ psychological and psychosomatic complaints, but also with aspects of positive health such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, well-being, sense of unity, and life satisfaction.

The data are derived from the Swedish part of the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, performed by the Public Health Agency of Sweden in 2017 among students in grades 5, 7 and 9.