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The bully-victim overlap and nutrition among school-aged youth in North America and Europe
This 2018 study was conducted to investigate whether there is any correlation between dietary patterns among youth, bully perpetration, and bully victimization. Jackson & Vaughn examined around 150,000 youths, aged 10–16, from 40 different countries, noting the prevalence of bully victimization and perpetration as well as dietary information. Nutritional assessment was based on the adolescents’ meal deprivation and consumptions of healthy and junk foods. These 3 nutritional variables were found to be significantly associated with bully perpetration, regardless of whether bullying co-occurred with victimization. Those who ate low quantities of healthy foods were at a 24% higher risk of bullying others, while high junk food intake and frequently depriving oneself of meals were linked with 66% and 48% higher likelihood of taking part in bullying, respectively. However, there was no connection between any of the 3 dietary dimensions with odds of being a victim of bullying. These findings indicate that youths who are deprived of meals regularly and eat high levels of junk foods and low amounts of healthy foods, are more than twice as likely to bully others, in comparison with those youths who report none of these 3 dietary problems. A strategy for reducing bullying rates among youths may be to implement dietary interventions that diminish hunger and enhance eating behaviors. [NPID: violence, bullying, meal deprivation, junk food]
Year: 2018
