Association Between Pain and Bullying in Australian Adolescents: A Secondary Analysis of Cross-Sectional Data From the Australian Child Wellbeing Project.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the frequency, and the strength of the association, between bullying and pain in Australian schoolchildren.

Methods: We used nationally representative data from the 2014 Australian Child Wellbeing Project, comprised students aged 8 to 14 years from 180 schools. Weighted, multiple logistic regression models (adjusting for sex and school year) were constructed to quantify the association between weekly or more frequent bullying and weekly or more frequent pain. Estimates of association for the relationship between bullying and pain were reported as odds ratios (OR).

Results: The sample was comprised of 5,440 schoolchildren (51.9% female). The prevalence rates of weekly or more frequent pain in the sample were headache (32.3%), backache (23.5%), and stomach ache (21.7%). Between 4.3% and 7.9% of participants reported weekly or more frequent bullying. In schoolchildren reporting bullying, the prevalence of pain ranged from 43.1% to 64.3%. Logistic regression modeling showed moderate-to-strong positive associations (OR, 2.1 [95% CI, 1.8-2.5] to 4.5 [95% CI, 3.7-5.6]) between the experiences of schoolchildren reporting any bullying type and any pain type.

Conclusion: Australian schoolchildren who reported bullying were more likely to experience headache, stomach ache, and backache. The moderate-to-strong positive association is consistent with previous international studies that have examined the association between bullying and pain in young people. These findings have significant implications for clinicians who provide care for young people, as well as educators and healthcare policymakers, highlighting the important role of coexisting psychosocial factors in the management of adolescents who report pain.