Violence among Adolescents in Qatar: Results from the Global School-based Student Health Survey, 2011

Background Despite being a neglected issue in adolescent health, interpersonal violence such as physical fighting constitutes a prominent cause of physical injuries in adolescents. Aim We aimed to study the prevalence of physical fighting and its associated factors among Qatar's adolescent population. Method We analyzed secondary data from Qatar's Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2011 to determine the prevalence as well as the associated factors of being engaged in a physical fight in the last 12 months. Results It was found that almost half of the participants (49%) were involved in a physical fight; mostly males (60.5%) than females (37.6%). Being bullied, smoking, and having parental supervision were positively associated with physical fighting (OR = 3.97, 95% CI (3.68, 4.28); OR = 1.78, 95% CI (1.61, 1.97); OR = 1.14, 95% CI (1.05, 1.23), respectively). Conclusion Further behavioral research on adolescent violence will inform the development of youth-targeted violence prevention programs.