When Kids Use Ethnicity and Gender to Bully (continued)

Conclusions for Parents, Teachers, and Researchers

Our work on peer discrimination illustrates that it is important to ask students about the reasons they think they are being targeted. We have only examined two potential reasons here, ethnicity and gender. We found that many students were victims of at least one form of peer discrimination and that those who experienced either form were more likely to experience depression. Uncovering the importance of these two factors is a first step. However, we believe that a broader range of perceived reasons for victimization should also be considered. Other important reasons might include a students’ sexual identity, the group of friends a student hangs around with, and the activities in which a student is involved. Knowing which factors make adolescents feel most vulnerable is essential for devising the most beneficial prevention and intervention strategies.

References

1. Rosenbloom, S.R., & Way, N. (2004). Experiences of discrimination among African American, Asian American and Latino adolescents in an urban high school, Youth and Society, 35, 420-451.
2. Verkuyten, M., & Thijs, J. (2002). Racist victimization among children in the Netherlands: The effect of ethnic group and school. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 25, 310-331.
3. Nylund, K. L., Bellmore, A., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2007). Subtypes, severity, and structural stability of peer victimization: What does latent class analysis say? Child Development, 78, 1706-1722.

Related Studies

Bellmore, A. D., Witkow, M. R., Graham, S., & Juvonen, J. (2004). Beyond the individual: The impact of ethnic context and classroom behavioral norms on victims’ adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 40, 1159-1172.

Bellmore, A. D., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2006). Reciprocal influences between victimization, perceived social preference, and self concept in adolescence. Self and Identity, 5, 209- 229.

Bellmore, A. D., Nishina, A., & Witkow, M. R., Graham, S., Juvonen, J. (2007). The influence of classroom ethnic composition on same- and other-ethnicity peer nominations in middle school. Social Development, 16 720-740.

Amy Bellmore is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests include the academic and psychological consequences of peer-victimization and the significance of ethnicity to students' peer relationships during adolescence. Email: abellmore@wisc.edu

Ayako Tomonaga is a doctoral student of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interest is the impact of interpersonal negative events such as peer-victimization and peer-discrimination on children's psychosocial development. Email: ayako.fn@hotmail.com