Bullying as a Risk Factor for Eating Disorder Behaviors Among Students: Secondary Analysis for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: Child psychiatry and human development Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 1404 - 1414
• Main Authors: de Oliveira Galvão, Patricia Paiva, Valente, Juliana Yurgel, Cogo-Moreira, Hugo, Mari, Jair J., Sanchez, Zila M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Body image; Body weight; Bullying; Child and School Psychology; Clinical trials; Discontent; Eating behavior; Eating disorders; Educational Environment; Factor analysis; Obesity; Original Article; Overweight; Psychiatry; Psychology; Public schools; Randomized Controlled Trials; Risk factors; School environment; Self report; Bullying; Prevention; Eating disorder; Adolescents
• ISSN: 0009-398X; 1573-3327
• DOI: 10.1007/s10578-022-01343-6

This study aimed to examine whether being a victim of bullying predicted body dissatisfaction and eating disorder behavior (EDB). In this study, we performed secondary analysis from a cluster randomized controlled trial among 5208 eight grade students from 73 public schools in three Brazilian cities. Data were collected in 2019 through an anonymous self-report questionnaire on bullying, body dissatisfaction, and EDB. We used factor analysis, multivariate linear regression, and multinomial logistic regression to verify whether being a victim of bullying during the baseline results in body dissatisfaction and EDB at the nine months follow-up for the control and intervention groups. Our results showed that being female (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.22–1.63) is a risk factor for dissatisfaction by overweight. Bullying was not a predictor of body dissatisfaction; however, being a victim of bullying (β 0.40, 95% CI 0.35–0.46) is a predictor of having more EDB, independent of the exposure to the program. Therefore, bullying deserves attention in the school environment.