Psychosomatic symptoms among victims of school bullying

Associations between being a victim of bullying and psychosomatic health ha ve been examined among 856 Norwegian school adolescents aged 13 to 15 years . Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were applied. Pupils bei ng bullied sometimes or more often during the previous term had significant ly higher odds of every psychosomatic symptom except sleeplessness, compare d to pupils who reported that they were never exposed to bullying. The high est odds ratio was observed in analysis of feeling low. No significant inte ractions with gender or age were seen, but the association with irritabilit y, headache and backache tended to be strongest for boys, whereas the assoc iation with nervousness and sleeplessness was strongest for girls. Increasi ng exposure to bullying was associated with a highly significant increase i n number of symptoms. The strong and consistent associations with different symptoms and the dose-response relationship suggest a causal relationship.