Peer Victimisation Among School‐Age Children in Türkiye: A Blockwise Regression Analysis of the 2022 Child Survey

ABSTRACT

Peer victimisation is a widespread threat to children's well‐being, yet nationally representative multidomain evidence on its correlates remains scarce. This study uses microdata from the Turkish Statistical Institute's 2022 Child Survey (TCS‐2022; n  = 10,210 children aged 6–17) to describe peer victimisation prevalence and identify independently associated characteristics using blockwise population‐weighted logistic regression with household‐level cluster‐robust standard errors. Six victimisation types were combined into an overall indicator reproducing the national estimate of 13.8%. Descriptively, victimisation was more common among children with a disability report (32.4%), poor academic performance (25.4%), no close friends (23.5%) or a chronic illness (20.6%). In the adjusted model, independently associated factors included disability (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI: [1.27–2.92]), poor academic performance (AOR = 2.90, 95% CI: [2.25–3.74]), chronic illness (AOR = 1.43, 95% CI: [1.19–1.72]), high relative BMI (AOR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.18–1.76), female sex (AOR = 1.19, 95% CI: [1.05–1.35]), small household size (two to three vs. four to five members: AOR = 1.34) and recreational screen time (AOR = 1.014/h/week). Associations with family structure and income adequacy were substantially attenuated after adjustment. The principal findings show that children with disabilities, poor academic performance, chronic illnesses, a high BMI, who are female, come from small households and spend time on recreational screen time are more likely to experience peer victimisation.