A cross-sectional multilevel study of bullying victimisation among adolescents: the role of body weight status and social capital across 38 countries

Given the disadvantages of bullying victimisation on adolescent health, this study evaluates how adolescent body weight status, as the main individual-level factor, and social capital, as an essential country-level factor, affect bullying victimisation among adolescents globally. The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study 2017/2018 included 143,091 participants across 38 countries. It captures the main individual factor and the individual control factor. Adolescents were categorised as “Else (Thinness or Normal)” or “Overweight and Obese (OAO)” based on IOTF age- and gender-specific cut-off criteria. The 2015 Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index (GSCI) captured social capital at country-level, while the 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the 2016 Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) served as country-level control variables. This study utilised a cross-sectional multilevel approach to address the study aims. OAO adolescents were significantly linked to an increased risk of bullying victimisation (OR = 1.17, 95% CI [1.13, 1.21], p < 0.01), consistent across male (OR = 1.17, 95% CI [1.12, 1.22], p < 0.01) and female adolescents (OR = 1.16, 95% CI [1.10, 1.23], p < 0.01). At the country level, higher social capital correlated with a reduced likelihood of being bullied (OR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.93, 0.99], p < 0.05). An important interaction between social capital and body weight status was noted (OR = 1.01, 95% CI [1.001, 1.01], p < 0.05). A statistically significant but substantively minimal cross-level interaction between body weight status and country social capital was identified, indicating low variation in the relationship across country contexts. Research demonstrates that bullying victimisation arises from individual vulnerabilities and overarching systemic factors. While social capital at the country-level typically provides protection, its efficacy in alleviating weight-related bullying differences is limited.