Peer Victimization among Thalassemic Children at Zagazig University Hospital: Comparative Study

Background: Peer victimization is a great social concern among school-aged children and those with chronic illnesses such as thalassemia are at an increased risk. Aim of the study: assess peer victimization among thalassemic children at Zagazig University Hospital Subjects and Methods: Research design: A case-control design was utilized. Setting: The study was conducted at Pediatric Hematology outpatient clinics at Zagazig University Hospital, Ahmed Arabi elementary school for both; girls and boys, Gazelle Elche’s preparatory and secondary school in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. Subjects: a matching sample of 47 thalassemic children and 47 control, aged 10-16 years. Tools of data collection: two tools were used to collect the study data: I) a structured interview questionnaire. II) Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale (MPVC).Results: the study revealed that thalassemic children less victimized than control group children. Also, boys were victimized by their peers more than girls in both control and thalassemic groups respectively; boys (10.41±6.2 and1.97±5.86) girls (9.89±3.95 and 0.44±1.89) and the results were highly statistically significant (p=0.001). Also it was found that birth order was a highly statistically significant independent negative predictor of peer victimization in thalassemic group (p=0.001), while sibling number was a statistically significant independent positive predictor that affected peer victimization in thalassemic children (p=0.027).Conclusion: It could be concluded that children in the control group were more victimized than thalassemic children. Recommendation: specific anti-victimization programs that targeted at improving shared knowledge, acceptance, and positive interactions between children and their peers should be implemented to lower the level of victimization.