Involvement in physical fights among school attending adolescents: A nationally representative sample from Kuwait

Masood Ali Shaikh, Anne P. Abio, Adebola A. Adedimeji, Michael Lowery Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Interpersonal violence in school settings is an important public health problem worldwide. This study investigated the individual and social correlates for being involved in a physical fight amongst a nationally representative sample of school-attending adolescents in Kuwait. Methods: We carried out bivariate and multivariate analyses to determine the strength and direction of associations with adolescent involvement in problematic fighting behavior within a 12-month recall period. Results: Within a total sample of 3637, n = 877 (25.2%) of school-attending adolescents reported being involved in two or more physical fights during the recall period. The multivariate analysis indicated that being male (OR = 2.71; CI = 1.88-3.90), a victim of bullying (OR = 2.77; CI = 2.14-3.58), truancy (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.91-3.32), planning a suicide (OR = 2.04; CI = 1.49-2.78) and food deprivation (OR = 1.91; CI = 1.37-2.65) were associated with an increased risk of involvement in physical fighting. Peer support in the form of having close friends (OR = 0.85; CI = 0.76-0.96) was found to be associated with a reduced involvement in fighting behavior. Conclusion: The results, when taken together, suggest that supportive school environments may represent important settings for violence mitigation and prevention strategies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number29
JournalBehavioral Sciences
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 8 2020

Keywords

  • Adolescent health
  • Bullying
  • Epidemiology
  • Interpersonal violence
  • Mental health
  • School health

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Development
  • Genetics
  • General Psychology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Involvement in physical fights among school attending adolescents: A nationally representative sample from Kuwait'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this