Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of physical bullying and to identify a suitable statistical model accounting for risk factors affecting physical bullying among lower secondary school students in Pattani province, southern Thailand. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 244 students aged 12 to 19 years by questionnaire. All participants were interviewed in December 2006 in a neutral location outside the schools. Questions on physical bullying referred to behaviour during both the preceding six months and during the previous month. Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to assess the associations between the outcome and various determinants. Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for physical bullying. The overall prevalence of physical bullying was found to be 18.5% (95% CI: 13.6-23.4). Gender was not significantly associated with bullying others. The outcome was associated to a statistically significant degree with age group, ethnicity, school type and parental violence. Specifically, the results from this study indicated that students who had experience of parental violence were more likely to be bullies at school.

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