Bullying Victimization Among School-Aged Immigrant Youth in the United States

Abstract

Purpose Bullying is a serious socio-developmental issue associated with a range of short and long term problems among youth who are bullied. While race and ethnicity have been studied, less attention has been paid to examining prevalence and correlates of bullying victimization among immigrant youth. Methods Using data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (N = 12,098), we examined prevalence and correlates of bullying victimization among U.S. immigrant youth. Results After controlling for several demographic variables, findings indicate that immigrant youth are more likely to experience bullying victimization than native-born youth. Further, immigrant youth who experience bullying victimization were more likely to report interpersonal, socio-emotional, health and substance use problems. Conclusions Given the greater risk and unique challenges experienced by immigrant youth, prevention and intervention programs may need to be tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. Further research is needed to understand the specific factors and mechanisms involved in bullying victimization among immigrant youth.

Impact of Bullying and Low Perceived Social Support on Ultra- High-Risk for Psychosis in Immigrant Adolescents: A Preliminary Study

“…Despite these considerations, results of researches that have investigated relations between immigration status and bullying victimization are controversial. In fact if some researches describe that immigrant youths are more likely to be bullied than native-peers (Bjereld Y, Daneback,& Petzold, 2015;Maynard, Vaughn, Salas-Wright, & Vaughn, 2016 ), others researches do not confirm these data (McKenne, Pepler, Craig, & Connolly, 2006). However Maynard et at.…”

“…Immigrants, proper of their condition of immigration, are often marginalized and discriminated and in consequence of this, have a higher risk to become victims of bullying (Maynard, Vaughn, Salas-Wright, &Vaughn, 2016). Despite these considerations, results of researches that have investigated relations between immigration status and bullying victimization are controversial.…”

“…To our knowledge, only one previously published research described an increased risk to experience bullying victimization in immigrant adolescents than natives native-born youth. Furthermore, immigrant youth who experienced bullying victimization were more likely to report interpersonal, socio-emotional, health, and substance abuse problems (Maynard, Vaughn, Salas-Wright, & Vaughn, 2016).…”

Ethnic Bullying Victimization in Italy: The Role of Acculturation Orientation for Ethnic Minority Adolescents With Differing Citizenship Statuses

“…Belonging to an ethnic minority group and being an immigrant might co-occur in some context and are commonly used as proxy indicators of ethnic status, albeit with a great variability across countries (Strohmeier et al, 2011). For example, most of the studies on the victimization of minority groups conducted in the US consider the race or ethnicity of students, because the racial/ethnic makeup of schools is complex and diverse (Hanish and Guerra, 2000;Graham and Juvonen, 2002;Maynard et al, 2016). On the contrary, European studies on discrimination and bullying in school are predominantly focused on immigrant status: the vast majority of students in schools are Caucasian, thus different groups are categorized in relation to nationality, geographical origin, and citizenship (Motti-Stefanidi et al, 2008;Zaiceva and Zimmermann, 2008;Thomas, 2012).…”

“…Social minorities that are ethnically, culturally, and/or linguistically different from the majority group can be targeted because of their marginal social status (Hawley and Williford, 2015;Yeager et al, 2015). At the same time, this relation could be direct or indirect: since other intrapersonal and interpersonal variables, such as social withdrawal (Hodges and Perry, 1999), could have a buffer effect (Maynard et al, 2016).…”