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Are Students With Asthma at Increased Risk for Being a Victim of Bullying in School or Cyberspace? Findings From the 2011 Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Author(s) -
GibsonYoung Linda,
Martinasek Mary P.,
Clutter Michiko,
Forrest Jamie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12167
Subject(s) - asthma , cyberspace , youth risk behavior survey , clinical psychology , psychology , medicine , suicide prevention , descriptive statistics , injury prevention , poison control , psychiatry , environmental health , the internet , world wide web , computer science , statistics , mathematics
BACKGROUND Adolescents with asthma are at risk for psychological and behavioral problems. The aim of this study was to determine whether high school students with asthma are at increased risk for bullying in school and cyberspace, and to explore the role of depressive symptoms in moderating this association. METHODS A secondary data analysis was completed with the 2011 Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Participant included a random sample of adolescents in grades 9 through 12 who attended public high schools in Florida. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted using SPSS software. RESULTS We examined data from 6212 high school adolescents and found a significant relationship between current asthma and cyberbullying in adolescents. Of the sample diagnosed with asthma, 15.6% reported bullying and 17% cyberbullying (versus 10.2% and 11% of nonasthmatics). We further examined data using depressive symptoms as a mediating and moderating variable and found significance on all accounts. CONCLUSIONS Adolescents with asthma are at increased risk for being victims of bullying in school and cyberspace. Our findings suggest that adolescents with asthma who also report depressive symptoms are particularly at high risk for bullying than adolescents with asthma who did not report depressive symptoms. Efforts to increase education and decrease all types of bullying at the high school level for both students with and without asthma are warranted.