RESUMO

Bullying victimization is associated with poor health-related outcomes, including sleeping problems. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of bullying victimization on sleep difficulty, and the moderating effect of the number of close friends on this association, also exploring differences across genders. The study was based on a nationally-representative survey on adolescent health conducted in Brazilian schools, involving a total of 109,104 participants, enrolled at the 9th year in 2012. The measures used in the analysis included socio-demographic characteristics, bullying victimization, sleep difficulty, and number of close friends. In the multilevel models, reporting more peer victimization was associated with more sleep difficulties (b = .18, t = 50.17, p < .05), with girls reporting more sleep difficulties in association with peer victimization than boys. Reporting having more friends was inversely linked to sleep difficulties (b = -.08, t = -15.26, p < .05), and the association between peer victimization and sleep difficulties was significantly buffered by the number of friends. Moreover, in a three way interaction, there was a marginally significant difference in the effect of friends on the link between victimization and sleep difficulties between boys and girls (b = .02, t = 1.86, p = .06), with the buffering effect of friendships being negligible among girls as opposed to boys. The results indicate a significant association between bullying victimization and sleep difficulties, which seems to be more pronounced among girls, also suggesting that the number of close friends may buffer this association, mainly for boys.

Assuntos

RESUMO

According to the Authoritative School Climate theory, a school environment perceived with high levels of support and disciplinary structure can be a protective factor against violence. Therefore, the current study aimed to understand how support and disciplinary structure affected peer victimization among Brazilian students. Participants were 420 students from Brazil, between 7 and 14 years old (mean=10.02; S.D. = .91); 51.5% of the participants were boys. Measures were obtained from a self-report questionnaire with measures of victimization, authoritative school climate and sociodemographic data. Using multilevel modeling between individual and same-sex peer group analyses, 89.86% of the victimization variability was at the individual level. Results indicated a negative association between the student's perception of support and reports of victimization, but no gender differences as predictors of victimization. Younger students who reported lowers perceptions of support also could be more victimized.

De acordo com a teoria do Clima Escolar Autoritativo, ambientes escolares percebidos com altos níveis de suporte e estrutura disciplinar podem ser protetores contra a violência. Portanto, o objetivo desse estudo foi entender como o suporte e a estrutura disciplinar afetaram o relato da vitimização entre pares. Os participantes foram 420 estudantes, entre 7 e 14 anos (média=10,02; d.p.=0,91); 51,5% dos participantes eram meninos. As medidas foram obtidas a partir de questionário de autorrelato sobre vitimização, clima escolar autoritativo e dados sociodemográficos. Usando o modelo multinível, 89,86% da variação da vitimização foi no nível individual. Os resultados indicaram uma associação negativa entre a percepção de suporte pelo aluno e os relatos de vitimização, mas não foram encontradas diferenças entre gêneros como preditores de vitimização. Os alunos mais jovens, que relataram menor percepção de suporte, também apresentaram tendência maior para a vitimização.

De acuerdo con la teoría del clima escolar autoritativo, los ambientes escolares percibidos con altos niveles de soporte y estructura disciplinaria pueden ser protectores contra la violencia. El objetivo de este estudio fue entender cómo el soporte y la estructura disciplinar afectaron el relato de la victimización entre pares. Los participantes fueron 420 estudiantes, entre 7 y 14 años (promedio=10,02; d.e.=0,91); El 51,5% de los participantes eran niños. Medidas fueron obtenidas a partir del autorrelato sobre victimización, clima escolar autoritario y datos sociodemográficos. Con el modelo multinivel, el 89,86% de la variación de la victimización fue a nivel individual. Resultados indican asociación negativa entre lo soporte y los relatos de victimización, pero no se encontraron diferencias entre géneros como predictores de victimización. Los alumnos más jóvenes que relataron menor percepción de soporte también tienden a ser más victimizados.

Assuntos