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Burden and preference-based quality of life associated with bullying in children

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Abstract

The objectives of this study are to assess the association between childhood bullying and preference-based health-related quality of life (QoL) in Australian school children and their parents and estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated with bullying chronicity. Children aged 8–10 years completed the child health utilities (CHU-9D), while parents completed the Australian quality of life (AQoL-8D). Children were grouped into four categories of bullying involvement (no bullying, victim, perpetrator, or both perpetrator and victim) based on the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Parental data were compared across two bullying involvement groups (bullying vs. no bullying). QALYs were calculated for children over two years and comparisons made based on the number of assessments where bullying was reported (baseline, 1- and 2-year follow up). Children who were involved in bullying (victims and/or perpetrators) reported statistically significantly lower mean utility scores compared to children who were not involved in bullying. Parents whose child was involved in bullying had significantly lower mean utility scores compared to parents of children not involved with bullying. There appeared to be a dose–response relationship, with higher QALY losses associated with increasing frequency of reported bullying. Bullying among Australian school children was associated with significantly lower preference-based QoL for themselves and their parents. This study also confirmed the significant burden of disease for bullying among children measured by an incremental decrease in QALY with an increasing chronicity of bullying over time.

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Acknowledgements

The preliminary result of this project was presented at the International Health Economic Association conference in Basel, 2019.

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1047185); Australian Government Department of Education; and Macquarie University. Ron Rapee is supported by an ARC Laureate Fellowship, FL150100096. Donna Cross’ contribution to this paper was supported by NHMRC Research Fellowship GNT1119339.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin Health Economics, Institute for Health Transformation, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Long Khanh-Dao Le, Mary Lou Chatterton, Anne Magnus & Cathrine Mihalopoulos

  2. Department of Psychology, Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Ronald M. Rapee, Sally Fitzpatrick, Kay Bussey & Jennie Hudson

  3. School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Caroline Hunt

  4. Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Subiaco, WA, Australia

    Donna Cross

  5. Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia

    Donna Cross

Authors
  1. Long Khanh-Dao Le
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  2. Mary Lou Chatterton
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  3. Ronald M. Rapee
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  4. Sally Fitzpatrick
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  5. Kay Bussey
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  6. Jennie Hudson
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  7. Caroline Hunt
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  8. Donna Cross
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  9. Anne Magnus
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  10. Cathrine Mihalopoulos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Long Khanh-Dao Le.

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Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was granted through the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference number 5201300641), and the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee.

Informed consent

All participants included in the study were provided with details regarding the study and informed that return of the completed study implied their consent to participate in the study.

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Le, L.KD., Chatterton, M.L., Rapee, R.M. et al. Burden and preference-based quality of life associated with bullying in children. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 32, 53–62 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01807-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01807-5

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