OBJECTIVES: Adolescents involved in bullying are at increased risk for alcohol use; however, much of this research has been cross-sectional. The aim of this work was to therefore examine the longitudinal associations between bullying and future alcohol use.
METHODS: Data were drawn from the COMPASS study. The current study used a 2-year linked sample of grade 9 and 10 students from 2015 to 2017 (n = 6005). Students were asked to report their involvement with bullying as well as alcohol use and binge drinking behaviours. Generalized estimating equations regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between bullying involvement at baseline and alcohol use and binge drinking at follow-up.
RESULTS: Overall, 20% of students in grades 9 and 10 reported involvement in bullying. There was evidence of a modest longitudinal association between bullying and binge drinking. Being a bully or bully-victim at baseline was associated with increased odds of initiating future binge drinking.
CONCLUSIONS: Being a bully or bully-victim in grade 9 or 10 was associated with initiating binge drinking within the following 2 years. Targeted alcohol use prevention programming may benefit these groups.
Language: en
Keywords
Adolescent; Binge drinking; Bullying; Alcohol drinking; High school student