TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends and Socioeconomic Correlates of Adolescent Physical Fighting in 30 Countries
AU - Pickett, William
AU - Molcho, Michal
AU - Elgar, Frank J.
AU - Brooks, Fiona
AU - de Looze, Margaretha
AU - Rathmann, Katharina
AU - ter Bogt, Tom F. M.
AU - Gabhainn, Saoirse Nic
AU - Sigmundova, Dagmar
AU - de Matos, Margarida Gaspar
AU - Craig, Wendy
AU - Walsh, Sophie D.
AU - Harel-Fisch, Yossi
AU - Currie, Candace
PY - 2013/1
Y1 - 2013/1
N2 - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: No recent international studies provide evidence about its prevalence, trends, or social determinants of physical fighting in adolescents. We studied cross-national epidemiologic trends over time in the occurrence of frequent physical fighting, demographic variations in reported trends, and national wealth and income inequality as correlates.METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were administered in school settings in 2002, 2006, and 2010. Participants (N = 493 874) included eligible and consenting students aged 11, 13, and 15 years in sampled schools from 30 mainly European and North American countries. Individual measures included engagement in frequent physical fighting, age, gender, participation in multiple risk behaviors, victimization by bullying, and family affluence. Contextual measures included national income inequality, absolute wealth and homicide rates. Temporal measure was survey cycle (year).RESULTS: Frequent physical fighting declined over time in 19 (63%) of 30 countries (from descriptive then multiple Poisson regression analyses). Contextual measures of absolute wealth (relative risk 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93-0.99 per 1 SD increase in gross domestic product per capita) but not income inequality (relative risk 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.98-1.05 per 1 SD increase) related to lower levels of engagement in fighting. Other risk factors identified were male gender, younger age (11 years), multiple risk behaviors, victimization by bullying, and national homicide rates.CONCLUSIONS: Between 2002 and 2010, adolescent physical fighting declined in most countries. Specific groups of adolescents require targeted violence reduction programs. Possible determinants responsible for the observed declines are discussed. Pediatrics 2013;131:e18-e26
AB - BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: No recent international studies provide evidence about its prevalence, trends, or social determinants of physical fighting in adolescents. We studied cross-national epidemiologic trends over time in the occurrence of frequent physical fighting, demographic variations in reported trends, and national wealth and income inequality as correlates.METHODS: Cross-sectional surveys were administered in school settings in 2002, 2006, and 2010. Participants (N = 493 874) included eligible and consenting students aged 11, 13, and 15 years in sampled schools from 30 mainly European and North American countries. Individual measures included engagement in frequent physical fighting, age, gender, participation in multiple risk behaviors, victimization by bullying, and family affluence. Contextual measures included national income inequality, absolute wealth and homicide rates. Temporal measure was survey cycle (year).RESULTS: Frequent physical fighting declined over time in 19 (63%) of 30 countries (from descriptive then multiple Poisson regression analyses). Contextual measures of absolute wealth (relative risk 0.96, 95% confidence interval 0.93-0.99 per 1 SD increase in gross domestic product per capita) but not income inequality (relative risk 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.98-1.05 per 1 SD increase) related to lower levels of engagement in fighting. Other risk factors identified were male gender, younger age (11 years), multiple risk behaviors, victimization by bullying, and national homicide rates.CONCLUSIONS: Between 2002 and 2010, adolescent physical fighting declined in most countries. Specific groups of adolescents require targeted violence reduction programs. Possible determinants responsible for the observed declines are discussed. Pediatrics 2013;131:e18-e26
KW - trends
KW - INCOME INEQUALITY
KW - violence
KW - CHILDREN
KW - HEALTH INEQUALITIES
KW - epidemiology
KW - HIGH-SCHOOL-STUDENTS
KW - YOUNG-PEOPLE
KW - YOUTH
KW - socioeconomic
KW - RISK BEHAVIOR
KW - INJURY
KW - adolescent
KW - VIOLENCE-RELATED BEHAVIORS
KW - UNITED-STATES
KW - fighting
KW - inequality
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84872867607
U2 - 10.1542/peds.2012-1614
DO - 10.1542/peds.2012-1614
M3 - Article
SN - 0031-4005
VL - 131
SP - E18-E26
JO - Pediatrics
JF - Pediatrics
IS - 1
ER -
