TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - Income inequality and socioeconomic differences in bullying perpetration among adolescents in post-communist countries of Europe: findings from the HBSC study
JO  - Preventive medicine reports
A1  - Albert Torchyan, Armen
A1  - Houkes, Inge
A1  - Bosma, Hans
SP  - e102540
EP  - e102540
VL  - 37
IS  - 
N2  - BACKGROUND: Adolescent bullying is a major public health concern in post-Communist countries of Europe (PCCE). We studied the impact of income inequality on the prevalence of and socioeconomic differences in bullying perpetration. <br><br>METHODS: Nationally representative samples of adolescents aged 11-15 years from 14 PCCE participating in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey during 2017-18 years were included. Multilevel logistic regression models were fitted. <br><br>RESULTS: Overall, 71,119 adolescents participated in the survey. About 27.7 % of country differences in bullying perpetration were attributable to high income inequality. Adolescents with low and high family socioeconomic status (SES) had a 10-15 % greater risk (P < 0.05) of bullying perpetration compared to middle-SES adolescents. In cross-level interaction, the risk of bullying perpetration was the highest among high-SES adolescents from countries with wider income inequality (P-interaction = 0.003). The odds ratios of bullying perpetration comparing high- vs. low-SES adolescents ranged from 0.67 in the least unequal to 1.59 in the most unequal countries. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that high income inequality might contribute to school bullying among adolescents in PCCE, particularly those from high-SES families. The necessary political and economic interventions should focus on improving the country socioeconomic environment in PCCE. Moving towards less neoliberal policies and creating a strong welfare state that promotes the population's economic and social well-being and reduces income inequality might be a necessary component of macro-level strategies aimed at preventing bullying among adolescents. Targeted public health interventions might be required for high-SES adolescents in countries with wide income inequality.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2211-3355
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102540
ID  - ref1
ER  -