Addressing Weight-Related Bullying in Schools: Youth Perspectives on School Policies and Interventions.

IF 1.8 4区医学 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Journal of School Health Pub Date : 2025-08-29 DOI:10.1111/josh.70054

Ritika Kale, Erin N Harrop, Jaylyn R Kelly, Sarah A Sullivan, Kendrin R Sonneville

{"title":"Addressing Weight-Related Bullying in Schools: Youth Perspectives on School Policies and Interventions.","authors":"Ritika Kale, Erin N Harrop, Jaylyn R Kelly, Sarah A Sullivan, Kendrin R Sonneville","doi":"10.1111/josh.70054","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Background: Weight-related bullying is linked to negative mental health outcomes. However, anti-bullying policies targeting weight-based bullying remain limited. This study aimed to gather youth perspectives on weight-related bullying and potential school interventions.Methods: Data were collected in November 2022 from the MyVoice National Poll of Youth, a diverse cohort of U.S. youth (ages 14-24). Respondents (n = 621) answered five open-ended questions about weight-related bullying, which were analyzed using inductive content analysis.Results: A majority of respondents (71.6%) reported witnessing weight-related bullying. While most respondents attributed bullying to characteristics of the individual doing the bullying (e.g., insecurity), characteristics of the target of the bullying were more commonly named for weight-related bullying compared to bullying in general (46.5% vs. 29.2%; p = 0.0013). Respondents suggested both educational/programming approaches and policy solutions. Most respondents (68.5%) supported the inclusion of weight-related bullying in school anti-bullying policies.Implications for school health policy, practice, and equity: Research on anti-bullying laws shows potential benefits for youth (e.g., reduced bullying, improved mental health). As policies addressing weight-related bullying expand, research is needed to assess their effectiveness and minimize unintended consequences.Conclusions: Youth support the inclusion of weight-related bullying in school policies, which could help create more supportive environments and improve mental health outcomes.","PeriodicalId":50059,"journal":{"name":"Journal of School Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of School Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.70054","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Weight-related bullying is linked to negative mental health outcomes. However, anti-bullying policies targeting weight-based bullying remain limited. This study aimed to gather youth perspectives on weight-related bullying and potential school interventions.

Methods: Data were collected in November 2022 from the MyVoice National Poll of Youth, a diverse cohort of U.S. youth (ages 14-24). Respondents (n = 621) answered five open-ended questions about weight-related bullying, which were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Results: A majority of respondents (71.6%) reported witnessing weight-related bullying. While most respondents attributed bullying to characteristics of the individual doing the bullying (e.g., insecurity), characteristics of the target of the bullying were more commonly named for weight-related bullying compared to bullying in general (46.5% vs. 29.2%; p = 0.0013). Respondents suggested both educational/programming approaches and policy solutions. Most respondents (68.5%) supported the inclusion of weight-related bullying in school anti-bullying policies.

Implications for school health policy, practice, and equity: Research on anti-bullying laws shows potential benefits for youth (e.g., reduced bullying, improved mental health). As policies addressing weight-related bullying expand, research is needed to assess their effectiveness and minimize unintended consequences.

Conclusions: Youth support the inclusion of weight-related bullying in school policies, which could help create more supportive environments and improve mental health outcomes.

查看原文本刊更多论文

解决学校中与体重有关的欺凌：青少年对学校政策和干预措施的看法。

背景：与体重有关的欺凌与负面的心理健康结果有关。然而，针对体重欺凌的反欺凌政策仍然有限。本研究旨在收集青少年对与体重有关的欺凌和潜在学校干预措施的看法。方法：数据于2022年11月从MyVoice全国青年民意调查中收集，该民意调查是由美国青年（14-24岁）组成的多元化队列。受访者（n = 621）回答了5个关于体重相关欺凌的开放式问题，这些问题采用归纳内容分析法进行分析。结果：大多数受访者（71.6%）表示目睹过与体重有关的欺凌行为。虽然大多数受访者将欺凌行为归因于实施欺凌行为的个人特征（例如，不安全感），但与一般欺凌行为相比，与体重相关的欺凌行为更常被归咎于被欺凌对象的特征（46.5%对29.2%;p = 0.0013）。答复者提出了教育/方案编制方法和政策解决办法。大多数受访者（68.5%）支持将体重相关的欺凌行为纳入学校反欺凌政策。对学校卫生政策、实践和公平的影响：关于反欺凌法律的研究显示了对青少年的潜在益处（例如，减少欺凌，改善心理健康）。随着针对体重相关欺凌的政策不断扩大，需要进行研究以评估其有效性并尽量减少意外后果。结论：青少年支持在学校政策中纳入与体重有关的欺凌行为，这有助于创造更多的支持性环境并改善心理健康结果。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of School Health 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

3.70

自引率

9.10%

发文量

134

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of School Health is published 12 times a year on behalf of the American School Health Association. It addresses practice, theory, and research related to the health and well-being of school-aged youth. The journal is a top-tiered resource for professionals who work toward providing students with the programs, services, and environment they need for good health and academic success.