Physical Fighting among School-Attending Adolescents in El Salvador: An Examination of the 2013 Global School-Based Health Survey

Background: Violence among school-attending adolescents is an important public health problem worldwide. The present study examined demographic correlates for physical fighting behavior among a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in El Salvador. Methods: Initial cross-tabulations to screen for correlations was then followed by logistic regression to understand the direction and the strength of selected demographic variables for physical fighting behavior, which occurred within a 12 month period of recall. Results: Out of a sample of 1910 school-attending adolescents in El Salvador, 11.5% reported having been involved in two or more physical fights during the recall period. Regression analyses indicated that being male (OR = 3.55
95% CI = 2.11&ndash
6.00)
having experienced bullying (OR = 2.16
95% CI = 1.44&ndash
3.24)
physical activity (OR 0.61
95% CI 0.46&ndash
0.80)
a sedentary lifestyle (OR 1.54
95% CI 1.05&ndash
2.27), suicide planning (OR 2.28
95% CI 1.46&ndash
3.56), and having non-understanding parents (OR = 1.45
95% CI 1.06&ndash
1.98) were significantly associated with physical fighting among the sampled adolescents. Conclusion: Within the limitations of cross-sectional surveys conducted in school settings, the results of the present study suggest that giving attention to preventing bullying behavior among males and involving parents should be components of a multi-pronged strategy to preventing physical fighting in schools in El Salvador.