Abstract
BACKGROUND: Bullying has been identified as a risk factor for many issues among adolescents. Although it was already considered a public health issue in Brazil before the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic and associated public health measures have affected bullying behavior. OBJECTIVE: To explore changes in bullying victimization and perpetration among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022. METHODS: This study utilizes data from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Lifestyle (ELEVA), employing a repeated cross-sectional with a nested cohort design. Adolescents (n = 1.987, 50.2% female, mean age 16.4 years) answered a questionnaire and bullying-related information were extracted from two different questions for victims and perpetrators. Multilevel logistic regression models were used. RESULTS: Bullying victimization decreased from 46% (95% CI: 40-52%) in 2019 to 30% (95% CI: 24-36%) in 2022 (OR: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.30-0.69, p < 0.05) in the longitudinal sample. Stable prevalences of bullying victimization (44% in 2019, 40% in 2022, p = 0.090) and perpetration (9.7% in 2019. 8.7% in 2022, p = 0.5) were observed within the repeated cross-sectional sample. CONCLUSION: This study found a significant decrease in bullying victimization among Brazilian high school students from 2019 to 2022 in the longitudinal sample, which coincides with the decrease in bullying behavior associated with getting older. However, the prevalence of bullying victimization and perpetration remained relatively stable and high in the repeated cross-sectional sample. These findings highlight the need for effective policies and interventions to prevent bullying among high school students. Additionally, providing resources and support for students experiencing bullying could be beneficial.