Prevalence of practice of bullying reported by Brazilian students: Data from the National School Health Survey, 2015

Abstract

Objective: to identify the practice of bullying reported by Brazilian students, according to sex, age and geographical location. Methods: this was a cross-sectional study based on two national samples from the National School Health Survey (PeNSE), 2015; a total of 102,301 students participated in the study forming a nationally representative sample; data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Results: bullying prevalence was 19.8% (95%CI - 19.2;20.3), with higher prevalence in the Southeast region of the country (22.2% - 95%CI 21.1;23.4), and in the State of São Paulo (24.2% - 95%CI 22.3;26.2), however the city with the highest prevalence was Boa Vista (25.5% - 95%CI 22.9;28.1), capital of the State of Roraima; boys (24.2% - 95%CI 23.4;25.0) practiced more bullying than girls (15.6% - 95%CI 14.9;16.2), as did younger students aged 13 to 15 years (22.0% - 95%CI 20.4;23.6). Conclusion: higher rates of reported bullying practices were found among adolescents from the Southeast region, among male and younger students.