Sex Differences in the Relationship Between Asthma and Bullying Victimization Among High School Students in the United States

Abstract

ABSTRACTBACKGROUNDChildren with asthma are often marginalized at school, including bullying victimization. The purpose of this study is to estimate the association between asthma and school or electronic bullying victimization among US high school students, and test whether the association varies significantly by sex.METHODSPooled data from five waves of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 73,074) were used. Additive interactions were estimated in R software as per STROBE guidelines.RESULTSAsthma increases the risk of bullying victimization among female and male adolescents. The risk of school bullying was significantly greater among female students with asthma (7.3%) compared to males (4.0%, p = .002). Similarly, the increased risk for electronic bullying victimization associated with asthma was significantly greater among female (7.2%) than among male students (3.4%, p < .001).CONCLUSIONSTargeted educational interventions to decrease bullying victimization among adolescents with asthma are needed to mitigate its negative impacts.