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This study examined associations between self-reported mental health problems, body image, bullying victimisation and school safety in large adolescent samples in Japan and Russia, considering the effects of gender, culture and their interactions. In both Japan and Russia, girls reported a greater number of mental health problems, less bullying victimisation and much higher body dissatisfaction than boys did. Japanese adolescents rated themselves higher on total difficulties, reported less body dissatisfaction and bullying victimisation, and rated their school safety lower than that of Russian youths. Cross-cultural differences in total difficulties and body image were qualified by gender. Body dissatisfaction, bullying victimisation and school safety all independently contributed to adolescent mental health problems. The protective effect of school safety on total difficulties was larger for girls than for boys; the strength of the association between bullying victimisation and adolescent mental health problems differed across genders and cultures. The findings indicate a need for a cross-cultural approach and provide a strong basis for targeted interventions that seek to improve adolescent mental health., (© 2023 International Union of Psychological Science.)

There has been a lack of studies on bullying in non-western low-income and middle-income countries. This study reported the prevalence of traditional victimization, cybervictimization, and the combination of these, in 13 European and Asian countries, and explored how psychiatric symptoms were associated with victimization. The data for this cross-sectional, school-based study of 21,688 adolescents aged 13-15 were collected from 2011 to 2017. The main outcomes were traditional and cybervictimization obtained from student self-reports. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess psychiatric symptoms. Generalized estimating equation and logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). The mean prevalence of any victimization was 28.9%, of traditional victimization only, this was 17.7%, and for cybervictimization only this was 5.1%. Cybervictimization occurred both independently, and in combination with, traditional victimization. The mean prevalence of combined victimization was 6.1%. The mean proportion of those who were cyberbullied only among those who were either cyberbullied only or bullied both traditionally and in cyber was 45.1%. The rates of prevalence varied widely between countries. In the total sample, those who experienced combined victimization, reported the highest internalizing symptoms (girls, OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.22-1.29; boys, OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.25-1.33). The study findings suggest that anti-bullying interventions should include mental health components and target both traditional and cyberbullying. Due to the overlap between these, targeting bullying should primarily focus on how to reduce bullying behavior rather than just focusing on where bullying takes place., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: No previous population‐based studies have examined associations between self‐cutting, perceived school safety, and bullying behavior among East Asian adolescents. Method: We examined whether bullying, victimization, and perceived school safety were associated with self‐cutting by getting 1865 students with a mean age of 13.9 years (standard deviation 0.2 years) to complete questions on these variables. Psychiatric problems were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results: About 5.6% of males and 11.9% females had practiced self‐cutting and when we controlled these results for psychiatric symptoms, self‐cutting was associated with being both a bully and a victim among males and females. In addition, self‐cutting was independently associated with perceived school safety among females. Those who felt unsafe at school and were victimized were much more likely to engage in self‐cutting. Conclusions: Self‐cutting among Japanese adolescents was linked with bullying behavior and feeling unsafe at school. Secure school environments and school‐based antibullying programs could help to prevent adolescent self‐injurious behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract on a study that evaluates the association between bullying behavior, school safety, and self-injurious behavior among Japanese students is presented.