Original Research Article Bullying and Its Relation to Common Health Symptoms in School Children

Bullying is an intentional, unprovoked abuse of power by one or more children in order to inflict pain or cause distress to another child on repeated occasions. Victims of regular bullying lack confidence, have lower self esteem, regard themselves as less competent. Studies have shown that victimization from bullying behavior is associated with substantial adverse effects on physical and psychological health. There is a higher prevalence of depression, school absenteeism and detioration in school performance. Health professionals seeing children with common health symptoms should ask whether the child is being bullied. The anti-bullying programme can be implemented with relatively simple means and without major costs. It is primarily a question of changing attitudes, behavior and routines in school life. Our results stress the importance of regular communication between children, parents, teachers and health care professionals with regard to bullying incidents