Abstract:
Background: Bullying among school students has become more prevalent recently. It is a serious issue that may have negative effects on adolescents, including poor academic performance and mental health issues.
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of bullying and assess its connection with the adolescents' mental health and self-esteem.
Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis, 340 students participated, in order to determine what personal, familial, school, and social characteristics that are associated with bullying, a self-administered questionnaire was applied. The short form of the aggressiveness and victimization scale was used to assess the prevalence of bullying and victimization. Their emotional well-being was measured with the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS-21). Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used for self-esteem assessment.

Results: The prevalence of bullying behavior was (71.2%), and the victimization rate was 87.9%. 2.6% were unique bullies, 19.4% were unique victims, and 68.6% were bully victims. There were significant positive correlations between both bullying and victimization scores and each of depression, anxiety, and stress. Victimization score was negatively correlated with self-esteem. On Logistic regression analysis, insulting words at home was a hazard factor for being a unique bully. While school punishment was a hazard factor for being both a unique victim and a bully-victim. Other hazard factors for being a bully-victim were students' younger age, being in preparatory grade, and street violence.

Conclusion: a high prevalence of bullying among secondary school adolescents was noted. A bullying prevention program should be designed and implemented in schools to control this problem.