The Prevalence of Bullying Victimization and Perpetration Among the School-Aged Population in Chinese Communities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Though bullying was predominantly documented in Western societies, increasing attention has been paid to bullying in Chinese communities during recent years. It remains unknown whether bullying among youngsters in the Chinese communities is similar to or different from their counterparts in Western societies. A systematic review was primarily conducted in English and Chinese databases from the start to December 31, 2021. This study estimated the prevalence of overall (integrating both face-to-face and cyber forms), face-to-face, and cyber bullying victimization and perpetration using random-effects models. Based on 68 eligible studies, this study revealed a pooled prevalence of overall bullying victimization of 22.7% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] [17.7, 28.6]) and a pooled prevalence of overall bullying perpetration of 15.7% (95% CI [6.7, 32.3]). Besides, the estimated prevalence were 20.8% and 10.3% for face-to-face bullying victimization and perpetration, while 9.6% and 8.4% for cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The subgroup analyses showed that the high heterogeneity of prevalence among the studies estimating bullying victimization and perpetration could be accounted for by sample characteristics and the measurement approaches. This study suggests that bullying is prevalent in the Chinese communities, comparable to, if not higher than, in the Western societies. Prevention and intervention programs are urgently required to reduce bullying among the school-aged population in Chinese communities.