Bullying and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms Among Adolescents of Public Schools in Colombia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Bullying is a frequent, yet sometimes dismissed dynamic in school-aged youth, despite all the literature around its prevalence and detrimental effects. Around the world, prevalence estimates have demonstrated wide variability. In Colombia, between 22% and 49.9% of adolescents have experienced bullying. Much research on school bullying has focused on perpetrators and those victimized; less is known about those who witness it. The main objective of this cross-sectional study of 1224 Colombian public high school students was to determine if there is an association between the different types of involvement (victims, aggressors, witnesses) in bullying and the presence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We measured individual sociodemographic factors, types of involvement in bullying, the presence of PTSD symptoms, and levels of family dysfunction. We found that verbal abuse was the most frequent behavior reported. Also, a high proportion of PTSD symptoms among victims, witnesses, and aggressors were identified. In the logistic regression analysis, presence of PTSD symptoms was associated with subjects identified as social victims (OR = 2.067; CI = 1.381– 3.095), verbal victims (OR = 2.779; CI = 1.599–4.828), victims by coercion (OR = 4.038; CI = 1.710–9.532), social aggressors (OR = 1.974; CI = 1.355–2.919), and in those with severe family dysfunction (OR = 3.372; CI = 1.744–6.520). Additional research is needed in the Colombian population to identify and explore appropriate options for prevention and intervention in those most vulnerable to bullying.