Bullying Victimization and Truancy in Adolescence: A Multilevel, Cross-National Study in 69 Countries

Although bullying is a widespread phenomenon with well documented consequences for students' engagement, its relationship with school attendance problems (SAPs) has received little attention-particularly in large-scale, cross-national research. The present study addresses this gap by analyzing nationally representative data of 413,462 adolescents across 17,528 schools in 69 countries and economies. The data were drawn from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Using both pooled and country-level multilevel analyses, the results consistently demonstrate that bullying victimization is associated with higher odds of SAPs, measured by students skipping classes or entire school days. Importantly, the strength of this association is stronger in countries with lower gross domestic product per capita, most notably in East and Southeast Asia, followed by Post-Soviet/Central Asian and Eastern European regions. These results underscore that bullying is a global issue with tangible consequences for student attendance across diverse educational systems. Our conclusions highlight the need for regionally tailored interventions and policy responses that address the specific mechanisms through which bullying influences school engagement.