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Prevalence of Bullying in California Youth with Disabilities

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Abstract

Youth with disabilities experience bullying at rates much higher than those who do not identify as having a disability; however, they are often underrepresented in national measures of bullying due to a lack of accessibility. This study was set to evaluate (1) how individuals with disabilities define bullying, (2) the prevalence of bullying among youth with disabilities in comparison to national bullying rates previously reported in the literature, and (3) their knowledge of the resources available to prevent bullying. Surveys were developed and administered to participants from two populations in California: (1) youth with disabilities, (2) parents of youth with disabilities. Results of the study showed that the definition of bullying is subjective and the prevalence of bullying experienced among individuals with disabilities was 90%. Over half of the youth with disabilities and their parents were unaware of how to file an anti-bullying complaint and 29% were unsure if their school had an anti-bullying policy. This study revealed that it is imperative for the public to better understand the concept of bullying, especially among the population of individuals with disabilities, to ensure the development and enforcement of robust policies. It also highlighted the lack of knowledge among individuals with disabilities regarding current policies put in place to mitigate bullying in the schools. Results of this study emphasized the need for including adolescents with disabilities in conversations about bullying and for the development of more inclusive preventive measures.

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Data Availability

Survey respondents gave written consent that their anonymized responses could be used for research and publication purposes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants for taking part in this study. We would also like to thank the CFILC staff (Ann Bui, Christina Mills, Kyla Aquino Irving, Vanessa Cuellar, and Raelyn Keys) for helping connect us to our research population and revise study materials. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Janice Enriquez along with all partners of the Maternal Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement-Undergraduate Program (UC Davis MIND Institute; Kennedy Krieger Institute; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Funding

This study was funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (grant number NU50MN000004).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Rhea Jain contributed to the design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results, and to the writing of the manuscript. Heather Thompson supervised in developing research materials and contributed to writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rhea Jain.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval

The survey data were obtained from SurveyMonkey, which provides de-identified responses. This study was reviewed and deemed exempt by the University of California, Davis Institutional Review Board.

Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained by each respondent by selecting that they agree to the terms and conditions of the anonymous study before beginning the survey.

Consent for Publication

Data were anonymously collected with no identifying information tied to survey responses.

Conflict of Interest

This study was performed as a student’s summer project for the Maternal Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement Undergraduate Program, through which a stipend was provided.

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Jain, R., Thompson, H.L. Prevalence of Bullying in California Youth with Disabilities. Int Journal of Bullying Prevention (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-023-00159-9

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