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Heal h Psychology and Beha io al Medicine
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Is pube al iming associa ed wi h in ol emen in
bullying in middle adolescence?
E eliina Jo manainen, Sa i F öjd, Mau i Ma unen & Rii ake u Kal iala-
Heino
To ci e his a icle: E eliina Jo manainen, Sa i F öjd, Mau i Ma unen & Rii ake u
Kal iala-Heino (2014) Is pube al iming associa ed wi h in ol emen in bullying in
middle adolescence?, Heal h Psychology and Beha io al Medicine, 2:1, 144-159, DOI:
10.1080/21642850.2014.881259
To link o his a icle: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/21642850.2014.881259
© 2014 The Au ho (s). Published by Taylo &
F ancis
Published online: 05 Feb 2014.
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Is pube al iming associa ed wi h in ol emen in bullying in middle
adolescence?
E eliina Jo manainen
a
, Sa i F öjd
b
, Mau i Ma unen
c,d,e
and Rii ake u Kal iala-Heino
a,
*
a
School o Medicine, Uni e si y o Tampe e, Tampe e, Finland;
b
School o Public Heal h, Uni e si y o
Tampe e, Tampe e, Finland;
c
Na ional Ins i u e o Heal h and Wel a e, Helsinki, Finland;
d
Facul y o
Medicine, Uni e si y o Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;
e
Depa men o Adolescen Psychia y, Helsinki
Uni e si y Hospi al, Helsinki, Finland;
Tampe e Uni e si y Hospi al, Tampe e, Finland
(Recei ed 17 No embe 2013; accep ed 6 Janua y 2014)
O - ime pube al ma u a ion is associa ed wi h men al diso de s, p esumably due o s ess
caused by de ia ion om pee s ha could also a ac nega i e a en ion and esul in being
bullied. S ess ela ed o o - ime ma u a ion could be ac ed ou by in ol ing onesel in
bullying beha io . The associa ions be ween pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying
ha e so a no been a ocus o esea ch. The objec i e is o explo e associa ions be ween
o - ime pube al ma u a ion and in ol emen in bullying. C oss-sec ional and longi udinal
associa ions be ween sel - epo ed pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying as ic ims
and pe pe a o s we e s udied in a sample o 2070 Finnish adolescen s aged 15–17 who
pa icipa ed in he Adolescen Men al Heal h Coho S udy. In e nalizing (dep ession) and
ex e nalizing (conduc diso de ) symp oms we e con olled o . The adolescen s we e
ec ui ed o esponse he baseline su ey in 2002–2003 (T1) and ollow-up wo yea s la e
(T2). In T1, esponse a e was 94.4% o all eligible s uden s. The 2070 pa icipan s in T2
comp ised 63.1% o he T1 pa icipan s. Ea ly ma u a ion among boys was c oss-sec ionally
associa ed wi h being a bully, and la e ma u a ion wi h exclusion om pee g oup. A e wo
yea s, he associa ions had disappea ed. Among gi ls, no associa ions we e de ec ed be ween
pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying. O - ime pube al ma u a ion places boys a
isk o in ol emen in bullying. The influence is ansien and suppo s he s ess ul change
hypo hesis o pube al iming.
Keywo ds: bullying; pube al iming; adolescence; men al heal h; popula ion s udy
In oduc ion
Pube y is an impo an ime o de elopmen and g ow h in he li e o an indi idual. I is also a
e y sensi i e pe iod psychologically, and men al heal h p oblems ha s a in pube y o en con-
inue o adul hood (Cos ello, Mus illo, E kanli, Keele , & Angold, 2003). Adolescen s eel i is
impo an o fi in wi h he g oup, ha e same age iends and o eel accep ed. The iming o
pube y a ies om 8 yea s in ea ly ma u ing gi ls o 15 yea s in la e ma u ing boys. When
he a e age age, o example, o mena che is 12–13 yea s, ea ly and la e ma u ing adolescen s
di e significan ly om hei age g oup. Physical and psychological changes may be bewilde ing,
impai sel -es eem and inc ease s ess. As a consequence, a de elopmen which di e s signifi-
can ly om ha o pee s can be a dange o he men al heal h o he adolescen (G abe ,
© 2014 The Au ho (s). Published by Taylo & F ancis
*Co esponding au ho . Email: me ihe@u a.fi
This is an open-access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/
licenses/by/3.0/, which pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly
ci ed. The mo al igh s o he named au ho (s) ha e been asse ed.
Heal h Psychology & Beha iou al Medicine, 2014
Vol. 2, No. 1, 144–159, h p://dx.doi.o g/10.1080/21642850.2014.881259
Lewinsohn, Seeley, & B ooks-Gunn, 1997; Kal iala-Heino, Koi is o, Ma unen, & F öjd, 2011).
Ea ly ma u ing adolescen s do no ha e age ma es in he same de elopmen al phase as hey hem-
sel es a e, and he e o e canno find suppo o sha e hei eelings wi h o he s. La e ma u e s on
he o he hand may expe ience conce n abou hei la e de elopmen . A en ion ecei ed om
adul s and pee s may be unwelcome and exace ba e s ess and p oblems. Ea ly ma u ing gi ls
ha e been epo ed o su e mo e dep ession, ea ly sexual beha io and alcohol abuse han
o he s (Angold, Cos ello, & Wo hman, 1998; Copeland e al., 2010; G abe e al., 1997;
Kal iala-Heino, Ma unen, Ran anen, & Rimpelä, 2003; Weichold, Silbe eisen, & Schmi -
Rode mund, 2003). The esul s o boys ha e no been as consis en . Depending on he s udy,
ei he la e o ea ly pube y has been associa ed wi h men al heal h p oblems (G abe e al.,
1997; Kal iala-Heino e al., 2003).
Bullying is a se ious and common p oblem among young people, and o una ely is nowadays
mo e o en add essed. Bullying is o en defined as a con inuous ac ion in ended o ha m someone
else physically o men ally. I also includes a powe -imbalance be ween he bully and he ic im.
Bullying is mos commonly di ided in o h ee subg oups: physical (hi ing, kicking and pushing),
e bal (namecalling, sp eading umo s) and social (lea ing someone alone agains hei wishes,
exclusion om social in e ac ion). Cype bullying is bullying ha akes place using in o ma ion
echnologies like social media, email and mobile phones (Lind o s, Kal iala-Heino, &
Rimpelä, 2012). Physical bullying is mo e common among boys, while social bullying is mo e
common among gi ls. Ve bal bullying is equally common in bo h sexes, cybe bullying again
seems mo e common among he gi ls (Kumpulainen e al., 1998; Lind o s e al., 2012). Boys
a e usually bullies and ic ims mo e equen ly han gi ls. Bullying is mos common in ea ly ado-
lescence be ween he ages o 12 and 13, when app oxima ely 10–20% o youngs e s a e es ima ed
o be in ol ed in i (Kal iala-Heino & F öjd, 2011; Olweus, 1993). As adolescen s g ow olde ,
bullying is obse ed o decline (Kumpulainen, Räsänen, & Hen onen, 1999).
An associa ion be ween bullying and men al heal h p oblems has been epo ed in nume ous
s udies. The link be ween hem is undeniable, bu he na u e o hei empo al ela ionship is no as
clea , and a ies be ween s udies. Men al heal h p oblems may cause bullying and ic imiza ion,
bu being a bully o a ic im may also cause men al heal h p oblems (Kal iala-Heino & F öjd,
2011; Kal iala-Heino, Rimpelä, & Ran anen, 2000; Kumpulainen e al., 1999). Being in ol ed
in bullying has been associa ed wi h a wide ange o symp oms; psychosoma ic symp oms,
dep ession, low sel -es eem, social phobia, beha io al p oblems, suicidal idea ion and a emp s,
d ug abuse, ea ing diso de s and e en psycho ic expe iences (Heikkilä e al., 2013; Kal iala-
Heino, F öjd, & Ma unen, 2010; Kal iala-Heino e al., 2011; Kal iala-Heino e al., 2000;
Klomek e al., 2008; Liang, Flishe , & Lomba d, 2007; Schol e, Engels, O e beek, de Kemp,
& Haselage , 2007). O hese, dep ession has been s udied mos . The ela ionship be ween
dep ession and bullying also a ies depending on he coun y, age o he esea ch pa icipan s
and s udy me hods. Some s udies sugges ha dep ession o en p ecedes bullying (Klomek
e al., 2008), while o he s sugges ha dep ession is an ou come o ic imiza ion (Bond,
Ca lin, Thomas, Rubin, & Pa on, 2001; Salmon, James, & Smi h, 1998), o ha he associa ion
may be di e en in boys and in gi ls (Kal iala-Heino e al., 2010). Bullies ha e also been ound o
su e om dep ession, and bullying could be a way o ac ing-ou (Kal iala-Heino & F öjd, 2011;
Kal iala-Heino e al., 2000; Olweus, 1993;Rigby, 2002). Bully ic ims ha e been disco e ed o
ha e he g ea es numbe o men al heal h p oblems wi h bullies and ic ims in second place
(Fo e o, McLellan, Rissell, & Bauman, 1999; Kal iala-Heino & F öjd, 2011; Kal iala-Heino
e al., 2000).
Thus, bo h being in ol ed in bullying and pube al iming ha e been associa ed wi h men al
heal h p oblems. Pee ela ionships a e o ou mos impo ance in adolescen de elopmen . I has
been sugges ed ha o - ime ma u ing pee s de elop symp oms due o he s ess o acing physical
Heal h Psychology & Beha iou al Medicine 145
changes wi hou suppo om pee s in a simila si ua ion. Howe e , i may be ha he ole o
pee s is e en mo e ac i e in he nega i e sense. Adolescen s ma u ing ea lie o la e han hei
pee s may become a ge s o unpleasan a en ion and bullying because o being di e en .
They may also hemsel es de elop p oblem beha io s such as bullying because o eelings o
being ou side s o pe cei ing nega i e a en ion. In a Finnish s udy (Kal iala-Heino e al.,
2003), a link be ween pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying was ound while s udying
he e ec o pube al iming on men al heal h. In gi ls e y ea ly pube y inc eased he isk o
being a bully o e h ee old and o boys o e wo old compa ed wi h pee s wi h la e pube y.
The aim o his s udy was o analyze whe he pube al iming has an e ec on in ol emen in
bullying, aking in o conside a ion all aspec s o i –bullying, ic imiza ion and social isola ion. We
also assessed whe he he possible associa ion di e s be ween boys and gi ls, and i he associa ion
pe sis ed du ing a ollow-up o wo yea s. As men al heal h p oblems a e mos o en associa ed wi h
bo h pube al iming and bullying, we analyzed whe he in e nalizing (dep essi e symp oms) o
ex e nalizing (agg ession and delinquency) men al heal h p oblems explained he associa ions
be ween pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying, o i he e was some associa ion indepen-
den ly o hese. In ligh o he exis ing li e a u e, we expec ed o find ha ea ly ma u ing gi ls
would be mos in ol ed in bullying bo h as ic ims and as bullies, and ha la e ma u ing boys
would epo ic imiza ion, whe eas ea ly ma u ing boys would epo being bullies.
Ma e ials and me hods
Ma e ials
The ma e ial o ou s udy was acqui ed om he Adolescen Men al Heal h Coho S udy, a
su ey s udy conduc ed in wo Finnish ci ies, Tampe e and Van aa. The da a we e collec ed
du ing he academic yea 2002–2003 (T1) and academic yea 2004–2005 (T2). As a esul , a
wo-yea ollow-up was es ablished. Fo a mo e de ailed desc ip ion o he me hodology, see
he ele an pape s (F öjd, Kal iala-Heino, & Ma unen, 2011; Ri akallio e al., 2008).
The eligible subjec s we e all adolescen s who we e en olled in he nin h g ade o he Finnish-
speaking comp ehensi e schools in he wo ci ies and who had u ned 15. The ini ial sample in he
fi s su ey (T1) was 3278 pupils o whom 49.1% we e gi ls (n= 1609). Thei mean age was 15.5
yea s (sd 0.36). Response a e a T1 was 94.4% o all eligible pupils in he pa icipa ing schools.
The second su ey was conduc ed among he fi s wa e esponden s wo yea s la e . The 2070
adolescen s who also esponded o he second su ey (T2, esponse a e 63.1%) we e he subjec s
o he p esen s udy. O hese, 56.4% (n= 1167) we e gi ls. The mean age o he esponden s a T2
was 17.6 yea s (sd 0.41).
A T1 he ques ionnai e was gi en ou o all nin h-g ade pupils in Van aa and Tampe e. The
pe son-iden ifiable su ey was comple ed in a school lesson and was supe ised by a eache . Fo
hose absen om school, a second chance was gi en o pa icipa e wi hin a couple o weeks. I a
pupil was no p esen on ei he occasion, he ques ionnai e was sen home by pos . I no esponse
was ecei ed a e his, i was concluded ha he s uden was no willing o pa icipa e. The
ollow-up su ey was sen wo yea s la e o all hose who answe ed a T1 and could s ill be
eached. A his poin , he adolescen s had mos ly mo ed o uppe seconda y schools o oca-
ional s udies. The su ey was comple ed ei he a school, sen by pos o done on he In e ne .
Measu es
The s udy add essed h ee di e en a eas o bullying: being a bully, being a ic im and being le
alone agains one’s wish. Bullying was defined in he s udy in he ollowing way:
146 E. Jo manainen e al.
We say a pupil is being bullied when ano he pupil, o a g oup o pupils, say o do nas y hings o him
o he . I is also bullying when a pupil is being eased epea edly in a way she o he does no like. Bu i
is no bullying when wo pupils o abou he same s eng h qua el o figh . (King, Wold, Tudo -Smi h,
& Yossi, 1996)
The o iginal esponse al e na i es we e “ne e ”,“once o wice”,“ wo o h ee imes a mon h”,
“abou once a week”and “many imes a week”. The answe s we e analyzed as a dicho omized a i-
able, which de e mined whe he he pupil had been a pa o bullying o no . Answe s “abou once a
week”and “many imes a week”we e defined as a yes, whe eas answe s “ne e ”,“once o wice”
and “ wo o h ee imes a mon h”we e defined as a no (Kal iala-Heino e al., 2010).
Pube al iming was elici ed om he pa icipan s a T1. Pube al iming was defined as he age
o mena che o gi ls and he age o oiga che o boys. The ques ion on pube al iming (how old
we e you when you had you fi s pe iods/ejacula ions) had se en esponse al e na i es: “I
ha en’ ye had pe iods/ejacula ions”,“10 yea s o younge ”,“11 yea s”,“12 yea s”,“13
yea s”,“14 yea s”and “15 o mo e”. The pube al iming a iable was di ided in o h ee ca -
ego ies. In his way he a iable ep esen ed ea ly, on- ime and la e ma u ing adolescen s. Respon-
den s answe ing “10 yea s o younge ”and “11 yea s”we e defined as ma u ing ea ly, “12 yea s”
and “13 yea s”as on- ime and “14 yea s”,“15 yea s o olde ”and “I ha en’ ye had my pe iods/
ejacula ions”as ma u ing la e (Kal iala-Heino e al., 2011).
The in e nalizing dimension o men al diso de s was in his s udy ep esen ed by dep essi e
symp oms. Dep essi e symp oms we e assessed a T1 and a T2 wi h a Finnish modifica ion o he
Beck Dep ession In en o y (R-BDI) (Rai asalo, 2007). The Finnish modifica ion o he 13-i em
BDI has demons a ed good psychome ic p ope ies among adolescen s (Kal iala-Heino,
Rimpelä, Ran anen, & Laippala, 1999). The 13 ques ions in ol ing s a emen s on eelings, cog-
ni ion and physical symp oms ela ed o dep ession we e sco ed (0–3) and summa ized. The
heo e ical sco es ange om 0 o 39, 39 indica ing he g ea es se e i y. Dep essi e symp oms
we e used as a con inuous a iable in he analysis. In he p esen da a, he R-BDI displayed
good in e nal consis ency wi h a C onbach’s alpha o 0.84.
Ex e nalizing symp oms we e assessed wi h he Agg ession and Delinquency Scales o he
You h Sel -Repo Ques ionnai e (YSR) (Achenbach, 1991), which consis s o 29 ques ions
abou beha io and emo ional li e. Each ques ion had h ee esponse op ions: “ne e ”,“some-
imes”and “o en”. I was possible o sco e 0–2 poin s om each ques ion, and he sum o
hese sco es ep esen ed he deg ee o ex e nalizing symp oms. The heo e ical sco es hus
ange om 0 o 58. Ex e nalizing symp oms sco e was used as a con inuous a iable. The C on-
bach’s alpha o he Delinquency Scale was 0.67, and o he Agg ession Scale i was 0.86.
S a is ical me hods
All analyses we e pe o med sepa a ely o gi ls and boys, as i has been p e iously no ed ha he
psychological e ec o bullying and pube al iming di e s be ween he sexes. The associa ion
be ween he a iables was fi s examined wi h c oss- abs analysis and chi-squa e s a is ics,
which yielded in o ma ion on he equency o bullying in he di e en pube al iming ca ego ies
(ea ly, on ime and la e ma u e s). Pube al iming was used as a ca ego ical a iable wi h which o
assess he equency o bullying, ic imiza ion and being le alone. This was done o bo h ime
poin s o see i he e was a di e ence a he ages o 15 and 17. In his way we cons uc ed 12
di e en c oss ables.
The bi a ia e associa ions be ween pube al iming and dep essi e symp oms/ex e nalizing
symp oms and be ween dep essi e symp oms/ex e nalizing symp oms and in ol emen in
Heal h Psychology & Beha iou al Medicine 147

bullying a ages 15 and 17 we e analyzed using one way analysis o a iance (ANOVA) and inde-
penden samples - es .
To s udy mul i a ia e associa ions, logis ic eg ession analyses we e used. Being in ol ed in
bullying (as a bully, ic im o being le alone, each in u n), was used as he dependen a iable in
he logis ic eg ession model. The ca ego ical pube al iming was used as an independen a i-
able. The la e ma u ing adolescen s we e used as he e e ence ca ego y. A e ca ying ou he
basic eg ession, h ee models we e cons uc ed o assess he e ec o age, dep essi e symp oms
and ex e nalizing symp oms a T1 on esul s a T1 and T2. The fi s model used age and dep ess-
i e symp oms, he second age and ex e nalizing symp oms, and he hi d included all h ee.
Ch onological age was con olled o in he eg ession analyses oge he wi h ex e nalizing and
in e nalizing symp oms, because e en i he pa icipan s we e e y homogenous in age, e en
small di e ences a his s age o de elopmen could ha e an impac . Age was calcula ed om
da es o bi h and o esponding, and is exp essed in yea s and used in he analyses as a con inuous
a iable. The alue p= 0.05 was used as he h eshold alue o s a is ical significance in all ana-
lyses. Odds a ios (OR) wi h 95% confidence in e als (CI) a e epo ed.
In he ables, s a is ically significan findings a e highligh ed wi h bold ex .
The analyses we e pe o med using s a is ical package o social sciences (SPSS) o
Windows (20.0) so wa e.
D op-ou om ollow-up
The esponse a e o he second ques ionnai e was accep able. Howe e , al oge he 28% o he
gi ls and 48% o he boys esponding o he fi s su ey d opped ou in he ollow-up. Pube al
iming was no an explana o y ac o o he d op-ou in gi ls, whe eas in boys non-no ma i e
pube al iming was associa ed wi h a lowe p obabili y o answe ing he second ques ionnai e
(ea ly, 50%; on ime, 59%; la e, 49%; p= 0.001). Those d opping ou epo ed mo e o en
being bullies a T1 han hose pa icipa ing a ollow-up (5% s. 3%, p= 0.002). Howe e ,
d op-ou s we e no mo e o en subjec ed o bullying a T1 han pa icipan s (4% s. 3%, p=
0.6), no le alone by pee s agains hei wishes (3% s. 2%, p= 0.6). Dep ession a T1 was
mo e common in d op-ou s (12% s. 9%, p= 0.02). Highe le els o delinquency indica ed a
lowe p obabili y o esponding (p= 0.001), whe eas agg essi eness was no associa ed wi h
he p obabili y o esponding. Highe age was associa ed wi h d opping ou wi h 11% s. 5%
being 16 yea s o olde a T1 (p= 0.001).
E hical conside a ions
The s udy was app o ed by he E hics Commi ee o Pi kanmaa Hospi al Dis ic . The subjec s ga e
w i en in o med consen a e being in o med abou he s udy and he olun a iness o pa icipa ion.
Thei pa en s we e in o med in ad ance by le e , bu pa en al consen was no eques ed because
he Finnish legisla ion on medical esea ch allows mino s om 15 yea s o consen alone.
Resul s
Dis ibu ion o a iables s udied
Pube al iming did no di e s a is ically significan ly be ween he sexes (Table 1). The as
majo i y o adolescen s s a ed ha hey had ne e been ic ims, bullies o been le alone
agains hei wishes a ei he ime poin . Boys s a is ically significan ly bullied o he s and we e
ic ims o bullying mo e o en han gi ls a he age o 15. Being le alone was equally
148 E. Jo manainen e al.
common in bo h sexes. By he age o 17 bullying and ic imiza ion had declined, bu being le
alone was a app oxima ely he same le el as wo yea s ea lie .
R-BDI mean sco e and Agg ession Scale on YSR was s a is ically significan ly highe o
gi ls a bo h ime poin s. The delinquency mean sco es o YSR we e nea ly he same o boys
and gi ls a bo h ime poin s (Table 1).
Table 1. Timing o oiga che/mena che epo ed a age 15, being in ol ed in bullying a age 15 (T1) and
wo yea s la e a age 17 (T2) and mean alues (s anda d de ia ions) o he Dep essi e and Ex e nalizing
Symp om Scales among Finnish adolescen s (%).
Boys T1
(age 15) n= 903
Boys T2
(age 17) n= 903
Gi ls T1
(age 15) n= 1167
Gi ls T2
(age 17) n= 1167
Timing o oiga che/mena che
10 o less 4.8 2.7
11 12.7 17.0
12 28.3 35.6
13 29.2 27.7
14 13.5 13.3
15 o la e 3.2 2.1
Has no occu ed ye 4.0 1.3
Missing 4.2 0.3
Has been bullied
Ne e 79.1 86 85.2 92.5
Once o wice 14 9.5 10.8 4.7
2–3 imes a mon h 1.9 0.8 1.9 0.4
Once a week 2.3 1.2 1.3 0.3
Many imes a week 2.4 1.2 0.9 0.3
Is no a wo k o s udying –0.6 –1.4
Missing 0.3 0.7 0 0.3
Has bullied o he s
Ne e 68.8 83.3 86.1 93.2
Once o wice 24.4 12.1 12.1 4.5
2–3 imes a mon h 2.3 1.2 0.3 0.3
Once a week 1.8 1.2 0.8 0.3
Many imes a week 2.5 1.1 0.5 0.1
Is no a wo k o s udying –0.6 –1.4
Missing 0.2 0.6 0.2 0.2
Has been le alone
Ne e 86.2 87.0 84.2 83.7
Once o wice 10.3 7.5 11.1 10.3
2–3 imes a mon h 0.8 1.1 2.1 1.8
Once a week 1.0 0.9 0.9 1.1
Many imes a week 1.3 1.8 1.3 1.3
Is no wo king o s udying –0.7 –1.4
Missing 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.4
Dep ession (BDI)
Mean sco e (sd) 2.0 (3.5) 1.9 (3.6) 3.1(4.1) 3.0 (4.2)
Agg ession (YSR)
Mean sco e (sd) 7.7 (5.8) 6.3 (5.4) 9.0 (5.0) 7.6 (4.7)
Delinquency (YSR)
Mean sco e (sd) 5.3 (2.7) 5.4 (2.8) 5.4 (2.7) 5.3 (2.3)
Heal h Psychology & Beha iou al Medicine 149
Associa ions be ween dep essi e and ex e nalizing symp oms wi h pube al iming and
in ol emen in bullying
Bo h gi ls and boys displayed s a is ically significan ly mo e ex e nalizing symp oms a age 15 he
ea lie hei pube al iming (Table 2). Dep essi e symp oms a age 15 we e no s a is ically sig-
nifican ly associa ed wi h pube al iming.
Vic ims had s a is ically significan ly highe ex e nalizing symp om sco es a age 15 han
hose no subjec ed o bullying (male p= 0.012, emale p< 0.001), as did hose who we e
bullies compa ed wi h non-bullies (male p< 0.001, emale p< 0.001). Ex e nalizing symp oms
a age 15 we e no associa ed wi h being le alone a T1. Ex e nalizing symp om sco es a T1
among boys we e s a is ically significan ly associa ed wi h being a bully a T2 (p< 0.001) and
among gi ls wi h being a ic im a T2 (p= 0.022).
Dep essi e symp oms we e s a is ically significan ly mo e common a T1 among male ic ims
(p< 0.001), among bullies (p< 0.001) and also among boys who we e le alone agains hei wishes
(p< 0.001). Fo gi ls, dep essi e symp oms we e s a is ically significan ly mo e common among
ic ims (p= 0.002), and among hose gi ls who we e le alone agains hei wishes (p< 0.001).
Gi l bullies did no ha e highe sco es han o he gi ls. A he age o 17, p e ious dep essi e symp-
oms had no e ec on boys being ic ims o bullies. P e ious dep essi e symp oms we e associa ed
wi h being le alone (p< 0.001). Those gi ls ha ing dep essi e symp oms a age 15 we e mo e
likely o be ic ims (p= 0.049), bullies (p= 0.011) and be le alone (p< 0.001) a age 17.
Bi a ia e associa ions be ween pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying a ages
15 and 17
Among boys, being a bully a age 15 was mos common among hose wi h ea ly pube y (p=
0.012). Boys wi h la e pube al iming epo ed a age 15 ha ing been mo e commonly le
alone by pee s han hose boys wi h ea ly o no ma i e pube al iming (p= 0.004). Among
gi ls, pube al iming was no associa ed wi h in ol emen in bullying a age 15 (Table 3).
In ol emen in bullying a age 17 was no s a is ically significan ly associa ed wi h pube al
iming in ei he boys o gi ls.
Mul i a ia e associa ions be ween pube al iming and in ol emen in bullying a ages
15 and 17
Ea ly pube al iming con inued o be s a is ically significan ly associa ed wi h bullying o he s a
age 15 among boys a e con olling o age and dep essi e symp oms (p= 0.049), bu adding
Table 2. Dep essi e and ex e nalizing symp oms acco ding o iming o oiga che/mena che among 15-
yea -old Finnish boys and gi ls (mean (sd)).
Boys Gi ls
11 o less 12–13 14 o mo e p11 o less 12–13 14 o mo e p
Dep essi e
symp oms
a
2.08 (3.7) 1.78 (3.0) 2.31 (4.4) .173 3.44 (4.4) 3.09 (4.0) 2.84 (4.3) .353
Ex e nalizing
symp oms
b
15.1 (8.5) 12.7 (7.3) 11.6 (7.7) .000 16.0 (7.1) 14.3 (6.7) 13.8 (7.3) <.001
Mean alues (s anda d de ia ions) o he symp oms sco es acco ding o pube al iming g oups we e s udies using
ANOVA.
a
In he p esen da a, dep ession sco es anged 0–39.
b
In he p esen da a, ex e nalizing symp oms sco es anged 0–48.
150 E. Jo manainen e al.
ex e nalizing symp oms in o he model le eled ou he associa ion. Dep essi e and ex e nalizing
symp oms had independen associa ions wi h being a bully a age 15 among boys in he final
model (dep essi e p= 0.051, ex e nalizing p< 0.001) (Table 4). In he mul i a ia e models
being subjec ed o bullying a age 15 among boys was no associa ed wi h pube al iming, bu
dep essi e symp oms eme ged as p edic ing ic imiza ion (p< 0.001). Being le alone was
mo e common among la e ma u ing boys (p= 0.002), and dep essi e symp oms also p edic ed
being le alone (p< 0.001).
No associa ion was ound in he mul i a ia e analyses be ween pube al iming and being a
bully, ic im o being le alone among 15-yea -old gi ls. Ex e nalizing symp oms we e ound
o be associa ed wi h being a bully also a e con olling o age and dep essi e symp oms (p
< 0.001). In a simila model, bo h dep essi e and ex e nalizing symp oms in gi ls we e ound
o be independen ly associa ed wi h being a ic im (dep essi e p= 0.037, ex e nalizing p<
0.001). Being le alone was no associa ed wi h ex e nalizing symp oms, bu bo h dep essi e
symp oms and ch onological age we e p edic o s o being le alone (dep essi e p< 0.001, age
p= 0.017) (Table 4).
A he age o 17 among boys, ea ly pube y was no longe associa ed wi h being a bully. Pub-
e al iming was no associa ed wi h any kind o in ol emen in bullying a T2. Ea lie dep essi e
symp oms seemed o be associa ed wi h being a bully among boys (p= 0.023), bu when ex e -
nalizing symp oms we e added in o he model, he associa ion le eled ou . Ex e nalizing symp-
oms on he o he hand we e independen ly associa ed wi h being a bully (p< 0.001). Dep essi e
symp oms a he age o 15 we e associa ed wi h being a ic im and being le alone a age 17
( ic im p= 0.038, le alone p< 0.001) (Table 5).
Following he esul s a age 15, pube al iming was no associa ed wi h being in ol ed in bul-
lying among gi ls a he age o 17. P e ious dep essi e o ex e nalizing symp oms we e no
Table 3. Being in ol ed in bullying as a bully, ic im o by being le alone among Finnish boys and gi ls a
age 15 (T1), and wo yea s la e (T2), acco ding o age a oiga che/mena che.
Age a mena che/oiga che
11 yea s o less 12–13 yea s 14 o mo e yea s Al oge he
%, n/N%, n/N%, n/N%, n/Np
Boys T1
Bully 8.9 (14/158) 3.1 (16/519) 4.2 (8/189) 4.4 (38/866) .012
Vic im 4.4 (7/158) 3.8 (20/520) 6.9 (13/189) 4.6 (40/867) .242
Le alone 1.9 (3/157) 1.2 (6/519) 5.8 (11/189) 2.3 (20/865) .004
Boys T2
Bully 3.2 (5/156) 2.0 (10/512) 2.6 (5/189) 2.3 (20/857) .634
Vic im 3.8 (6/156) 1.8 (9/511) 3.2 (6/189) 2.5 (21/856) .274
Le alone 2.6 (4/156) 2.0 (10/508) 4.3 (8/188) 2.6 (22/852) .255
Gi ls T1
Bully 3.0 (7/231) 1.2 (9/738) 1.0 (2/202) 1.5 (18/1171) .137
Vic im 2.6 (6/231) 2.4 (18/739) 2.0 (4/202) 2.4 (28/1172) .908
Le alone 1.3 (3/230) 2.4 (18/736) 3.0 (6/201) 2.3 (27/1167) .487
Gi ls T2
Bully 0.9 (2/225) 0.3 (2/732) 0.5 (1/196) 0.4 (5/1153) .497
Vic im 1.3 (3/225) 0.5 (4/731) 0.5 (1/196) 0.7 (8/1152) .461
Le alone 4.4 (10/225) 1.9 (14/729) 2.6 (5/196) 2.5 (29/1150) .120
%, n/N: di e ences be ween g oups we e s udied using c oss abula ions wi h chi-squa e s a is ics.
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