142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

312055
Cyberbullying and dieting and disordered eating (DDE) behaviors in a nationally representative sample of high school students

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Dennis Li, MPH , Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Michelle Wilkinson, MPH , Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Anshuman Sewda, MPH , Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Kayo Fujimoto, PhD, MS , Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Introduction: Youth who engage in DDE behaviors are at increased risk for negative physical and psychological outcomes and for developing an eating disorder. The link between peer harassment and DDE is well-established; however, the relation between harassment via electronic media and DDE is not fully understood.

Methods: Using the 2011 high school Youth Risk Behavior Survey, weighted logistic regression models were conducted to examine the associations between cyberbullying and three DDE behaviors—fasting, using diet supplements, and purging in the past 12 months. Cyberbullying was defined as bullying through e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, websites, or texting in the past 12 months. Additionally, a weighted ordered logistic regression model was also conducted to examine cyberbullying and cumulative co-occurring DDE behaviors.

Results: Of the 15,425 students, 13% reported fasting, 5.5% reported using diet supplements, and 4.7% reported purging, with a greater percent of females engaging in each behavior than males. The odds of DDE were greater for students who experienced cyberbullying than for those who did not (ORs and 95% CIs: fasting: 1.5 [1.2, 1.8]; diet pills: 1.3 [1.1, 1.6]; purging: 1.5 [1.1, 2.0]). For co-occurring DDE, the odds of having more versus fewer DDE behaviors for students who experienced cyberbullying were 1.7 (95% CI [1.21, 1.64]) times those who did not.

Conclusions: Cyberbullying was positively associated with individual and cumulative DDE behaviors. Further research into the wide-reaching consequences of peer harassment may help schools better understand, design, and support school-based bullying prevention and intervention efforts.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
List two ways of quantifying dieting and disordered eating behaviors as an outcome variable. Describe how cyberbullying is associated with dieting and disordered eating.

Keyword(s): Youth Violence, Child/Adolescent Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was part of the group of students who conducted the research presented in the abstract as part of a class group project. Together, we conducted all of the background and analyses, with supervision from our instructor (the senior author).
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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