Bullying and weapon carrying: a meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Criminology
• Public Health

Background:

• Adolescent bullying is a significant concern with potential links to violence.
• Previous studies suggest a correlation between bullying involvement and weapon carrying among youth.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct meta-analyses to determine if adolescent victims, bullies, and bully-victims are more prone to weapon carrying compared to uninvolved peers.
• To quantify the association between different roles in bullying and weapon carrying behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases (PsycINFO, ERIC, MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, Dissertation Abstracts International) from 1950 to January 2014.
• Included studies compared weapon carrying in adolescent victims, bullies, or bully-victims with uninvolved peers, excluding individuals over 21, incarcerated youth, or those with psychopathology.
• Meta-analyses synthesized data from 22 studies for victims, 15 for bullies, and 8 for bully-victims, totaling hundreds of thousands of participants.

Main Results:

• Victims (OR=1.97), bullies (OR=3.25), and bully-victims (OR=4.95) were all significantly more likely to carry weapons than uninvolved peers.
• Bully-victims exhibited the strongest association with weapon carrying.
• Studies in the United States showed a higher odds ratio for bully-victims carrying weapons (OR=7.84) compared to studies from other countries (OR=3.62).

Conclusions:

• Involvement in bullying, in any capacity (victim, bully, or bully-victim), is significantly associated with weapon carrying among adolescents.
• These findings highlight the critical need for interventions addressing bullying and weapon carrying in youth populations.
• The elevated risk for bully-victims underscores the complexity of this behavior and the importance of targeted prevention strategies.