A new report from the international Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study published this week by the WHO Regional Office for Europe on the health and social behaviors of schoolchildren aged 11, 13 and 15, from 45 countries, shows almost a third of teenagers aged 11-13 were subjected to bullying in Lithuania in 2018, and every fourth boy and around every seventh girl bullied others.
The highest level of bullying was reported among 13-year-olds as 32 percent of boys and 31 percent of girls said they had experienced bullying. The rates stand at 29 and 26 percent respectively in the 11-year-old group, and 26 and 21 percent respectively among 15-yer-olds.
In terms of bullying others, Lithuania also leads and is only behind Moldova in the 11-year-old group. In Lithuania, 24 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls aged 13 said they have taken part in bullying. In the 15-year-old group, they make 30 and 15 percent respectively, and 20 and 11 percent respectively in the 11-year-old group.
Carried out every four years, the WHO-initiated survey was done in 45 countries where schoolchildren were asked whether they have been subjected to or taken part themselves in bullying over the past several months.
Compared to 2014, the number of boys who have experienced bullying has seen the largest drop as it has gone down from 35 to 29 percent in the 11-year-old group, from 31 to 24 percent in the 13-year-old group and from 29 to 26 percent in the 15-year-old group.
All age groups included, the top of the list also includes Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Russian and England.