A Study On The Prevalence And Influencing Factors Of School Bullying Among Middle School Students

Background:School bullying is a serious social and public health concern.According to the latest UNESCO Global Bullying Status Survey released in 2017,school bullying is still a serious global problem,with nearly 250 million children being bullied in the school every year.In China,school bullying is a common phenomenon in the daily study of junior and senior high school students,which has an adverse effect on the physical and mental development of students.In 2017,the China School Bullying Investigation Report released by the China Emergency Management Society School Safety Professional Committee showed that the proportion of students who have been bullied in school bullying incidents in China has reached 1/4.Middle school students are in a critical period of physical and mental development.The occurrence of school bullying will bring physical harm and psychological distress to students,which will directly affect students’ academic development and the development of a healthy personality.Studies have shown that adolescents who have been bullied have a higher risk of depression and a correspondingly higher risk of suicide.School bullying has obviously become a major hidden danger threatening the physical and mental growth of middle school students.Objectives:1.To revise Chinese version of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale(MPVS);2.To evaluate the reliability and validity of MPVS among middle school students;3.To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of school bullying among middle school students;4.To explore the relevant influencing factors of middle school students suffering from school bullying and provide a scientific basis for preventing and reducing the occurrence of school bullying by middle school students.Methods:1.Revision of Chinese version of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale: The expert consultation method was adopted in this study.The original scale was modified for adaptability and representativeness of each item and in line with Chinese culture.The content of sexual bullying has been added to the original MPVS.2.Reliability and validity analysis of Chinese version of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale: The preliminary revised MPVS scale was used to conduct a preliminary survey on the sample of middle school students.The pre-survey data is used to analyze the reliability and validity of the scale.The exploratory factor analysis(EFA)is used to confirm the factor structure of the scale and determine the theoretical framework of the scale.The confirmatory factor analysis(CFA)was carried out to verify the fit between the scale factor structure and the pre-survey data collected.CFA was conducted by constructing the structural equation model(SEM).The Maxi-Likelihood was selected to estimate the parameters,and the goodness of fit of the model was verified.3.Cross-sectional survey of school bullying among middle school students: In addition to the MPVS scale,the basic demographic characteristics of middle school students were also investigated,including the gender,grade,ethnicity,household registration,whether there is only one child,type of family,and family member relationship,parental education,parental occupation,academic performance,personal smoking and drinking history,etc.The survey results were combined with the scale results for a comprehensive analysis,the status of school bullying was described,and the differences between gender and school level were compared.4.Research on the influencing factors of middle school students’ suffering from school bullying: those who have experienced one or more school bullying within one year are defined as persons being subjected to school bullying,and the multi-factor logistic regression model is used to explore the relevant factors affecting the middle school students’ suffering from school bullying.Results:1.The KMO moderate sampling value of Chinese version of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale was 0.862,indicating that MPVS can be used to construct factor analysis.2.After the Bartlett spherical test,the value of χ~2 is 4770.744,P<0.001.The difference between the measured value reflected in each dimension of the revised scale and the original true value is within an acceptable range,and it can well reflect the middle school students’ experiences of different types of school bullying incidents.The scale’s total Cronbach’s ɑ is 0.90,and the split-half reliability is 0.92;The success rate of the convergence validity calibration experiment and the discrimination validity calibration experiment of the MPVS scale are both 100%,indicating that the MPVS scale has a comparative good convergence validity and differentiation validity.The model fitting index χ~2/df value is 3.81,GFI and CFI are 0.909 and 0.928,PNFI and PCFI are 0.751 and 0.770,and the RMSER value is 0.071,all of which meet the index adaptation standard.These indicate that the overall model fits well,and the MPVS scale has good structural validity.2.In the past year,middle school students’ self-reported incidence of suffering bullying was 40.1%,the incidence of exerting school bullying was 13.8%,and the incidence of suffering/exerting bullying was 12.7%.The incidence of verbal bullying is the highest among all types of bullying,and the situation is the most serious.The incidence rate of male students’ suffering,exerting,both suffering and exerting school bullying is higher than that of girls(P<0.05).The incidence of high school students suffering,exerting,both suffering and exerting school bullying is higher than that of junior high school students(P<0.05).3.Grade,accommodation form,whether left-behind children,family harmony,parenting style,relationship with father,family income,whether father smokes,whether mother drinks alcohol,whether one has served as a class cadre,usual school performance,popularity with classmates,ability controlling one’s emotions,the types of games one like to play,and the history of love relationship are the factors that affect incidence of school bullying among middle school students.Conclusions:1.Revised 19-item Chinese version of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale has high reliability and validity,and the model fits well,which is suitable for the measurement of middle school students’ bullying on school.2.The high incidence of school bullying by middle school students has become a social problem that cannot be ignored.3.There are many influencing factors for middle school students to be bullied on school,and the relevant influencing factors should be comprehensively considered from various angles when formulating relevant preventive intervention measures.