Family and societal factors associated with school bullying among teenagers within the Greater Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Overall family stability factors in addition to the societal factors are affecting children’s development and personality which may or may not result in bullying behavior. The objective of this work was to investigate family and societal factors in creating bullies to prevent and/or reduce bullying behavior among school teenagers within the Greater Cairo area, Egypt. A total of 500 teenagers (388 males and 112 females) were selected from public schools in the Greater Cairo area. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics correlated with bullying. Pre-coded data were used in the statistical analyses. Differences among groups were tested. Logistic regression analysis was done to identify the significant predictors of bullying behavior among students. Violence in the family and other societal factors were associated with teenagers' tendency to be involved in bullying. Younger teenagers were more likely to be associated with being victim or being bully-victim while older age was significantly associated with being bully. The independent predictors for being bully-victims were age, gender, watching violent movies, fights in the family, witnessing fights and insulting words among family members, insulting words in streets and physical violence in the streets. Social and governmental organizations' programs should focus on promoting happy family life and preventing domestic violence by striking a balance between work and home so that parents can show their love for one another, as well as take part in their adolescent children's problems, take care of them, plan their lives, set limits and regulations, communicate with them, spend quality time with them, and share opinions when making decisions. Family therapy programs focusing on the relationship between parents and kids will have a positive effect on vulnerable teenagers.

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Al-Hussein, A. & Shabba, M. (2024). Family and societal factors associated with school bullying among teenagers within the Greater Cairo, Egypt. African Journal of Social Work, 14(2), 70-82. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v14i2.3

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