Original scientific paper
Trauma Symptoms in Pupils Involved in School Bullying – A Cross Sectional Study Conducted in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Edita Cerni Obrdalj
; University of Mostar, School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kristina Sesar
; [iroki Brijeg Health Care Center, [iroki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zarko Santic
; University of Mostar, School of Medicine, Department of Introducrion to Medicine, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Miro Klaric
; University of Mostar, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Irena Sesar
; Mostar University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mirjana Rumboldt
; University of Mostar, School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Abstract
To determine the association between involvement in school bullying and trauma symptoms and to find whether children with presence of trauma symptoms participate in school bullying more as victims, as bullies or as bully/victims. The study included 1055, 6th to 8th grade (12–14 years of age) elementary school pupils from the western part of Mostar, The pupils were self-interviewed using a Questionnaire on School Violence developed in 2003 and validated in Croatia, and Trauma Symptoms Check List for Children (TSCC). The pupils involved in the school violence, either as victims, bullies, bully/victims had significantly more trauma symptoms than the not involved. Involvement in school bullying as a bully/victim was a strong indicator of trauma symptoms, particularly anxiety, anger, posttraumatic stress, dissociation, obvious dissociation, and dissociation fantasy symptoms, while the victims of school violence had the highest odds ratio for the development of depressive symptoms. There is strong association between bullying and trauma symptoms in young adolescents. From our results, emphasis should be placed at the regularly screening on bullying in praxis of family physicians and regularly conduction of preventive measures and early intervention in every primary school.
Keywords
school bullying; trauma symptoms; depression; anxiety; posttraumatic stress; dissociation
Hrčak ID:
99502
URI
Publication date:
3.4.2013.
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