Bullying and Peer Victimization of Ethnic Majority and Minority Youth: Meta-Analyses and School Context

Abstract

The study of ethnicity in bullying research has yielded inconsistent findings regarding the involvement and prevalence rates among ethnic majority and minority groups. On one hand, individual studies using ethnic group membership as a demographic variable indicate that ethnic minority groups are at times more or less likely to experience or perpetrate bullying compared to White students. On the other hand, contextual factors such as ethnic diversity have yielded more consistent findings showing that increased ethnic diversity is associated with lower bullying victimization among ethnic minority students. The role of ethnicity in bullying and peer victimization was examined in this dissertation by investigating both individual and contextual variables. Studies 1 and 2 consisted of two meta-analyses that systematically addressed comparisons between ethnic majority (i.e., White) and minority students (i.e., Black, Asian, Hispanic) on bullying perpetration and peer victimization. Results indicated small and non-significant overall effect sizes; however, methodological moderators suggested that ethnic groups differ on bullying and peer victimization across countries, measurements, and age groups. Study 3 examined school ethnic composition and bullying involvement in a population-based, ethnically diverse Canadian sample. Results indicated that ethnic minority students experienced less bullying victimization in schools with a higher proportion of ethnic minority peers. School ethnic composition was not associated with bullying victimization for White students or bullying perpetration across both ethnic groups. Taken together, these studies suggest that ethnicity as a demographic variable is not sufficient to account for differences in bullying involvement and that contextual variables are more adequate at explaining patterns of bullying across ethnic groups within the larger school and societal contexts.