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Is Exposure to Domestic Violence and Violent Crime Associated with Bullying Behaviour Among Underage Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients?

Child Psychiatry & Human Development volume 42, pages 495–506 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

We examined the relationship of exposure to domestic violence and violence occurring outside home to bullying behaviour in a sample (508; 40.9% males, 59.1% females) of underage psychiatric inpatient adolescents. Participants were interviewed using K-SADS-PL to assess DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses and to gather information about domestic and other violence and bullying behaviour. Witnessing interparental violence increased the risk of being a victim of bullying up to 2.5-fold among boys. For girls, being a victim of a violent crime was an over 10-fold risk factor for being a bully–victim. Gender differences were seen in witnessing of a violent crime; girls were more likely to be bullies than boys. Further, as regards being a victim of a violent crime outside home and physical abuse by parents at home, girls were significantly more often bully–victims than boys. When interfering and preventing bullying behaviour, it is important to screen adolescents’ earlier experiences of violence.

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Acknowledgments

This study received support from the Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, the Ethel F. Donaghue Women’s Health Investigator Program at Yale, the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation (ABMRF), VA MIRECC, the Alma and K. A. Snellman Foundation, the Jalmari and Rauha Ahokas Foundation, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, the Orion-Farmos Research Foundation, the Finnish Psychiatric Research Foundation, the Finnish Graduate School of Psychiatry, the Oulu University Pharmacy Fund for Postgraduate Studies, the Finnish Cultural Foundation Grants/Central Fund Grants and the Finnish Medical Foundation/Teemu Pohjanpelto Fund. We thank the staff of the adolescent unit 70 of Oulu University Hospital for data collection, and all the adolescents and their families who participated in this study.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5000, 90014, Oulu, Finland

    Susanna Mustanoja, Anu-Helmi Luukkonen & Pirkko Räsänen

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital (OYS), P.O. Box 26, 90029, Oulu, Finland

    Helinä Hakko, Hannu Säävälä & Kaisa Riala

Authors
  1. Susanna Mustanoja
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  2. Anu-Helmi Luukkonen
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  3. Helinä Hakko
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  4. Pirkko Räsänen
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  5. Hannu Säävälä
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  6. Kaisa Riala
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Consortia

The STUDY-70 workgroup

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaisa Riala.

Additional information

The study is conducted on behalf of the STUDY-70 workgroup. The investigators and institutions participated in this study are listed in Appendix.

Appendix

Appendix

The STUDY-70 workgroup consists of: Medical supervisors: professor Pirkko Räsänen, University of Oulu, Department of Psychiatry; professor Jaakko Lappalainen, Yale University, School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry; professor Mauri Marttunen, Helsinki University, Department of Psychiatry; Administrative supervisors: Kaisa Riala, MD, PhD, Taru Ollinen, MD, PhD, and Kristian Läksy, MD, PhD, Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry; Statistical consultants: Helinä Hakko, PhD, and Kaisa Karvonen, B.Sc, Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry; Senior researchers: professor Markku Timonen, University of Oulu, Department of Public Health Sciences and General Practice; Researchers: Essi Ilomäki, MD, Risto Ilomäki, MD, Anu-Helmi Luukkonen, B.Med, University of Oulu, Department of Psychiatry; Matti Laukkanen, M.Sc, Oulu University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry.

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Mustanoja, S., Luukkonen, AH., Hakko, H. et al. Is Exposure to Domestic Violence and Violent Crime Associated with Bullying Behaviour Among Underage Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients?. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42, 495–506 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0222-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0222-9

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • Bullying
  • Domestic violence
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Crime