Are Immigrant Children More Likely to be Victims of Bullying in U.S. Schools Compared to Native-Born American Children?

Background

The school environment is one that aims to foster a safe and inclusive environment for all children, however, this is not always the case. Bullying in schools is an everyday occurrence, and can impact many children with devastating consequences. Those children who are perceived as “different”, whether it be due to race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability or immigrant status, may often be the victims of bullying in the school environment. There is an increasing importance in focusing on research concerning immigrant children and adolescents due to this group being the fastest growing immigrant group in the United States. Thus, the goal of the present investigation is to take advantage of a large-scale data source to examine incidents of bullying between immigrant and native-born children in U.S. schools. It is hypothesized that due to perceived differences, immigrant children will be more likely to report incidents of being victims of bullying, compared to native-born children in U.S. schools.

Methods

The study utilized data from the Healthy Behavior in School Children (HBSC, 2009-2010), a multi-stage and nationally representative survey of students in grades five through to grade ten (N=12,642). The data also identified whether the child was native-born or an immigrant (N=1,068). Measures used to assess being the victim of bullying included reporting if they had been, bullied at school, teased, hit/kicked/pushed, left out, and being lied to. Children were asked if they were bullied due to their race, religion, or had sexual jokes made about them, if they were bullied by computer/email, and cell phone. Using STATA version 14, logistic regression analysis was used to compare the association between nativity (immigrant versus native-born) with respect to reported incidents of bullying, while controlling for: age, gender, grade in school and race.

Results

Results indicate that immigrants are significantly more likely to be the victims of bullying in U.S. schools when compared to native-born children. Specifically, immigrant children were more likely to report instances of being “kicked/hit/pushed” (AOR=1.4, 95%, CI=1.18-1.66), “bullied due to race” (AOR=2.13, CI=1.82-2.50), “bullied due to religion” (AOR=1.7, CI=1.55-2.25), “bullied by computer/email” (AOR=1.78, CI=1.43-2.15), and “bullied by cell phone” (AOR=1.8, CI=1.46-2.22), when compared to native-born American children.

Conclusions

Immigrant children already face severe disadvantages compared to their native-born peers, such as lower SES, lower levels of parental education, as well as cultural and language barriers once in the host country. This makes them particularly vulnerable to being the victims of bullying. Due to the increase in immigrant children in U.S. schools, and the often harmful consequences of bullying, research in this area is needed to help implement bullying prevention programs that are specific to immigrant children. Further, development of diversity training and education programs for native-born children in U.S. schools on the importance of inclusion and anti-bullying. These programs can help to reduce the incidence of bullying in U.S. schools.