Flávia Carvalho Malta de Mello

Bullying nas escolas brasileiras: resultados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE), 2009

The aim of this study is to identify and describe the occurrence of bullying among students in the 9th year (8th grade) from public and private schools from 26 Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District. It is a cross-sectional study involving 60,973 students and 1,453 public and private schools. Data analysis indicates that 5.4% (IC95%: 5.1%-5.7%) of students reported having suffered bullying almost always or always in the last 30 days, 25.4% (IC95%: 24.8%-26.0%) were rarely or sometimes the victim of bullying and 69.2% (IC95%: 68.5%-69.8%) of students felt no humiliation or provocation at school. The capital with higher frequency of bullying was Belo Horizonte (6.9%; IC95%: 5,9%-7,9%), Minas Gerais, and the lowest was Palmas (3.5%; IC95%: 2.6%-4.5%), Tocantins. Boys reported more bullying (6,0%; IC95%: 5.5%-6.5%) compared with girls (4,8%; IC95%: 4.4%-5.3%). There was no difference between public schools 5.5% (IC95%: 5.1%-5.8%) and private (5.2%) (IC95%: 4.6%-5.8%), except in Aracaju, Sergipe, that show more bullying in private schools. The findings indicate an urgent need for intersectoral action from educational policies and practices that enforce the reduction and prevention of the occurrence of bullying in schools in Brazil.

Saúde sexual dos adolescentes segundo a Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde dos Escolares

The objective of this study was to describe situations related to sexual health of adolescents, according to the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE). It is a cross-sectional study performed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in partnership with the Ministry of Health that involved 60,973 students and 1,453 public and private schools. Data analysis points out that 30.5% (95%CI 29.9-31.2) of the adolescents had already had sexual relations sometime in their lives, being more frequent for males (43.7%; 95%CI 42.7-44.7) than females (18.7%; 95%CI 18.0-19.4), especially those who go to public schools (33.1%; 95%CI 32.4-33.9), aged 15 years or older (47.3%; 95%CI 45.7-48.9) and 16 years (63.5%; 95%CI 61,5-65.4). The sexual initiation age was early and 40.1% (95%CI 38.8-41.4) reported having had only one partner in life. The use of condoms in the last sexual relation was high both for protective (75.9%; CI95% 74.8-76.9) and contraceptive methods (74.7%; 95%CI 73.6-75.7). It is necessary to emphasize actions for promoting sexual health towards adolescents in order to minimize vulnerabilities.

Bullying in Brazilian school children: analysis of the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012)

OBJECTIVE To describe the victimization and bullying practice in Brazilian school children, according to data from the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey and to compare the surveys from 2009 and 2012. METHODS This is a cross-sectional study with univariate and multivariate analyzes of the following variables: to have been treated badly by colleagues, to have been bullied and to have bullied other children. The following independent variables were analyzed: age, sex, race/color, type of school, maternal education. Prevalence rates were compared between the editions of 2009 and 2012 of the survey. RESULTS Of all the adolescents analyzed, 27.5% have not been treated well by peers at school, with greater frequency among boys (OR = 1.50), at the age of 15 years (OR = 1.29) and 16 (OR = 1.41), public school students (OR = 2.08), black (OR = 1.18) and whose mothers had less education; 7.2% reported having been bullied, with a greater chance in younger students (13 years old), male (OR = 1.26), black (OR = 1.15) and indigenous (OR = 1.16) and whose mothers had less education; 20.8% reported to have bullied other children, with a greater chance for older students, at the age of 14 (OR = 1.08) and 15 years (OR = 1.18), male (OR = 1.87), black (OR = 1.14) and yellow (OR = 1.15), children of mothers with higher education, private school students. There was an increase of bullying in the Brazilian capitals, from 5.4 to 6.8%, between 2009 and 2012. DISCUSSION The occurrence of bullying reveals that the Brazilian school context is also becoming a space of reproduction of violence, in which it is crucial to act intersectorally and to articulate social protection networks, aiming to face this issue.

Psychoactive substance use, family context and mental health among Brazilian adolescents, National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012)

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between the consumption of psychoactive substances (tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs) and demographic variables, mental health and family context among school-aged children. METHODS The National Adolescent School-based Health Survey was held with a national sample of 109,104 students. Data regarding demographic variables, family background and mental health were collected. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of interest. RESULTS Multivariate analyses showed that alcohol consumption was higher among girls, drug experimentation was more frequent among boys and that there was no difference between sexes for smoking. Being younger and mulatto were negatively associated with the use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. Also negatively associated with such risk behaviors were characteristics of the family context represented by: living with parents, having meals together and parental supervision (when parents know what the child does in their free time). Moreover, characteristics of mental health such as loneliness and insomnia were positively associated with use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs. Not having friends was positively associated with use of tobacco and illicit drugs and negatively associated with alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS The study shows the protective effect of family supervision in the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs and, on the contrary, the increasing use of substances according to aspects of mental health, such as loneliness, insomnia and the fact of not having friends. The studys findings may support actions from health and education professionals, as well as from the government and families in order to prevent the use of these substances by adolescents.

Bullying and associated factors among Brazilian adolescents: analysis of the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey (PeNSE 2012)

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of bullying from the victims perspective in Brazilian school children and to analyze its association with individual and family context variables. METHODS An analysis of the data on 109,104 adolescents, obtained by the National Adolescent School-based Health Survey, held in schools in 2012, was carried out. An association model between bullying and explanatory variables was tested in different contexts: sociodemographic, risk behaviors, mental health and family context. Univariate and multivariate analyzes were performed, calculating the Odds Ratio and confidence intervals. RESULTS The prevalence of bullying found in this study was of 7.2% (95%CI 6.6 - 7.8). A higher chance of bullying was found among male students (OR = 1.58; 95%CI 1.51 - 1.66), with an inverse relation between age and bullying, with the magnitude of risk among adolescents younger than 13 years of age being higher when compared to those with 16 years of age or more. Of individual risk behaviors, only being a smoker remained in the final model (OR = 1.11; 95%CI 1.01 - 1.23). Mental health variables associated with bullying were: feeling lonely (OR = 2.66; 95%CI 2.52 - 2.81), insomnia (OR = 1.92; 95%CI 1.80 - 2.05), not having friends (OR = 1.71; 95%CI 1.54 - 1.89), and, in the family context, those who skip class without telling their parents (OR = 1.13; 95%CI 1,07 - 1,19) and those who suffer physical abuse by family members (OR = 2.03; 95%CI 1.91 - 2.146). CONCLUSION Bullying was associated to male students, younger, of black color, smokers, with mental health vulnerabilities and victims of domestic violence. This suggests the need for a holistic approach from education and health professionals, parents and the community in seeking measures for the prevention of bullying.

Vulnerability in adolescent health: contemporary issues

The objective of this exploratory study with a qualitative approach was to analyze how adolescents perceive reality in terms of vulnerability in respect to health. A total of 17 semi-structured interviews were staged with adolescents from two elementary-middle (k-8) schools in a city in the interior of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Content analysis was used to interpret the data, from which three thematic nuclei emerged. The results revealed that the adolescents understand the complex interaction between individual predisposition and health vulnerability, as well as the issues related to social structure, which contributes to strengthening the concept of vulnerability based on individual, social and programmatic logic. It was established that public policies, prevention and care provided during adolescence should not be guided by a single reference point, but instead by the plurality of the adolescent individuals concerning vulnerability in their dimensions, which should be acknowledged in order to break with the idea of the universality of the process of becoming an adolescent.

The causes of bullying: results from the National Survey of School Health (PeNSE).

Objetivo: identificar las caracteristicas y los motivos asociados por adolescentes brasilenos al bullying escolar. Metodo: se trata de una investigacion transversal, con datos provenientes de una encuesta epidemiologica (Investigacion Nacional de Salud del Escolar) realizada en 2012. Participaron del estudio 109.104 estudiantes del 9o ano de la ensenanza fundamental, de escuelas publicas y privadas, localizadas en zonas urbanas o rurales, en todo el territorio brasileno. La recoleccion de datos ocurrio por medio de un cuestionario autoaplicable y el analisis fue realizado con el programa SPSS version 20, utilizando procedimientos del Complex Samples Module. Resultados: la prevalencia de bullying identificada en el estudio fue de 7,2%, y fue mas frecuente en el sexo masculino, en alumnos mas jovenes, de color negro e indigena, cuyas madres no tenian ninguna escolaridad. Entre las causas/motivos del bullying, 51,2% no supieron especificar, la segunda mayor frecuencia de victimizacion fue relacionada a la apariencia del cuerpo (18,6%), seguida de la apariencia del rostro (16,2%), raza/color (6,8%), orientacion sexual 2,9%, religion 2,5%, region de origen 1,7%. Los resultados obtenidos son semejantes a los encontrados en otros contextos socioculturales. Conclusion: se evidencio la problematica como perteneciente al dominio del area de la salud, una vez que congrega determinantes para pensar el proceso salud-enfermedad-cuidado de los escolares.

Revisão sistemática da literatura sobre intervenções antibullying em escolas

This paper presents a systematic literature review addressing rigorously planned and assessed interventions intended to reduce school bullying. The search for papers was performed in four databases (Lilacs, Psycinfo, Scielo and Web of Science) and guided by the question: What are the interventions used to reduce bullying in schools? Only case-control studies specifically focusing on school bullying without a time frame were included. The methodological quality of investigations was assessed using the SIGN checklist. A total of 18 papers composed the corpus of analysis and all were considered to have high methodological quality. The interventions conducted in the revised studies were divided into four categories: multi-component or whole-school, social skills training, curricular, and computerized. The review synthesizes knowledge that can be used to contemplate practices and intervention programs in the education and health fields with a multidisciplinary nature.

Causas do bullying: resultados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar

Objetivo: identificar las caracteristicas y los motivos asociados por adolescentes brasilenos al bullying escolar. Metodo: se trata de una investigacion transversal, con datos provenientes de una encuesta epidemiologica (Investigacion Nacional de Salud del Escolar) realizada en 2012. Participaron del estudio 109.104 estudiantes del 9o ano de la ensenanza fundamental, de escuelas publicas y privadas, localizadas en zonas urbanas o rurales, en todo el territorio brasileno. La recoleccion de datos ocurrio por medio de un cuestionario autoaplicable y el analisis fue realizado con el programa SPSS version 20, utilizando procedimientos del Complex Samples Module. Resultados: la prevalencia de bullying identificada en el estudio fue de 7,2%, y fue mas frecuente en el sexo masculino, en alumnos mas jovenes, de color negro e indigena, cuyas madres no tenian ninguna escolaridad. Entre las causas/motivos del bullying, 51,2% no supieron especificar, la segunda mayor frecuencia de victimizacion fue relacionada a la apariencia del cuerpo (18,6%), seguida de la apariencia del rostro (16,2%), raza/color (6,8%), orientacion sexual 2,9%, religion 2,5%, region de origen 1,7%. Los resultados obtenidos son semejantes a los encontrados en otros contextos socioculturales. Conclusion: se evidencio la problematica como perteneciente al dominio del area de la salud, una vez que congrega determinantes para pensar el proceso salud-enfermedad-cuidado de los escolares.

VITIMIZAÇÃO POR BULLYING EM ESTUDANTES BRASILEIROS: RESULTADOS DA PESQUISA NACIONAL DE SAÚDE DO ESCOLAR (PENSE)

Objective: to identify bullying victimization among Brazilian students and analyze its association with individual and contextual variables. Method: cross-sectional, population-based study with data collected by the National Survey of School Health. A total of 109,104 9th grade students from public and private schools participated. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. We tested a model of association between bullying and sociodemographic variables (age, self-reported race, and mothers’ education), mental health (loneliness, insomnia, and lack of friends), family context (being spanked at home), school absenteeism (missing classes), and risk behavior (drug experimentation). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: the prevalence of victimization was 7.2%. Boys and girls aged 14 and 15 years old less frequently experienced bullying, while girls younger than 13 years old more frequently experienced bullying (OR: 1.48, CI95%: 1.02-2.15). Indigenous boys (OR: 1.37, CI95%: 1.15-1.65), Afro-descendant girls (OR: 1.24, CI95%: 1.09-1.40) Asian-descendant girls (OR: 1.43, CI95%: 1.21-1.70) were more frequently victims. Loneliness, lack of friends, insomnia, missing classes, domestic violence, and low level of mother’s education were associated with victimization among both boys and girls while drug use was associated only with girls (OR: 1.19, CI95%: 1.03-1.37). Conclusion: the results indicate that bullying victimization interferes in the education and health of students. These findings can support interventions intended to facilitate coping and promote health in schools