Prevalence, risk indicators and outcomes of bullying among on-reserve first nations youth

Objective: Bullying is common and multifaceted. There is no published literature focusing on bullying in First Nations youth on-reserve in Canada. The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence, risk indicators and impact of bullying within a First Nations youth population currently living on-reserve. Methods: Students in grades 5 through 8 (age 10 to 16 years) within the Saskatoon Tribal Council were asked to complete a youth health survey. Among the seven schools, 271 students were eligible to participate. Results: 204 youth completed the eight-stage consent protocol and the school survey for a response rate of 75.3%. Overall, 35.8% of youth reported being physically bullied, 59.3% verbally bullied, 47.5% socially bullied and 30.3% electronically bullied at least once or twice in the previous four weeks. After regression analysis, having a father who works in a professional occupation, doing well in school, and having the perception that parents expect too much from them were found to be independent risk indicators of being bullied. Irrespective of the type of bullying, youth who were bullied were at least twice as likely to suffer from depressed mood. Discussion: We have found that bullying is more common for First Nations youth living on-reserve, compared to other Canadian youth. Given that the independent risk indicators also appear to be different, we hope that this new information can aid in the design of effective bullying strategies.