Associations of School Violence With Physical Activity Among US High School Students

Background: This study investigated associations of violence-related behaviors with physical activity (PA)-related behaviors among U.S. high school students. Methods: Data from the 2009 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 9th-12th grade students, were analyzed. Sex-stratified, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for associations between violence-related behaviors and being physically active for >= 60 minutes daily, sports participation, TV watching for >= 3 hours/day, and video game/computer use for >= 3 hours/day. Results: Among male students, at-school bullying victimization was negatively associated with daily PA (aOR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.58-0.87) and sports participation; skipping school because of safety concerns was positively associated with video game/computer use (1.42; 1.01-2.00); and physical fighting was positively associated with daily PA. Among female students, at-school bullying victimization and skipping school because of safety concerns were both positively associated with video game/computer use (1.46; 1.19-1.79 and 1.60; 1.09-2.34, respectively), and physical fighting at school was negatively associated with sports participation and positively associated with TV watching. Conclusions: Bullying victimization emerged as a potentially important risk factor for insufficient PA. Schools should consider the role of violence in initiatives designed to promote PA.