Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Examining Associations Between Race, Urbanicity, and Patterns of Bullying Involvement

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Research on the role of race and urbanicity in bullying involvement has been limited. The present study examined bullying involvement subgroups that relate to race, urbanicity, and the perceived reason for the bullying. Self-report data were collected from 10,254 middle school youth (49.8 % female; 62.4 % Caucasian, 19.0 % African American, and 5.6 % Hispanic) and latent class analyses were used to identify three subtypes of bullying involvement: low involvement (50 %), victim (31.3 %), and bully-victim (18.7 %). Irrespective of urbanicity (urban vs. non-urban), African American youth were more likely to be members of either the victim or bully-victim classes than the low involvement class. Further exploration of the community context suggested that urbanicity was associated with the increased likelihood of having been racially bullied. Urban bully-victims were also more likely to have been bullied about money than non-urban bully-victims. Findings underscore the importance of addressing both race and urbanicity for culturally sensitive prevention programming.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bachman, R., Randolph, A., & Brown, B. L. (2011). Predicting perceptions of fear at school and going to and from school for African American and white students: The effects of school security measures. Youth & Society, 43(2), 705–726. doi:10.1177/0044118x10366674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, C. P., Mitchell, M. M., O’Brennan, L. M., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Multilevel exploration of factors contributing to the overrepresentation of Black students in office disciplinary referrals. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(2), 508–520. doi:10.1037/a0018450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, C. P., Rodgers, C. R. R., Ghandour, L. A., & Garbarino, J. (2009a). Social-cognitive mediators of the association between community violence exposure and aggressive behavior. School Psychology Quarterly, 24(3), 199–210. doi:10.1037/a0017362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2009b). A social disorganization perspective on bullying-related attitudes and behaviors: The influence of school context. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43(3–4), 204–220. doi:10.1007/s10465-009-9240-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, C. P., Sawyer, A. L., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2007). Bullying and peer victimization at school: Perceptual differences between students and school staff. School Psychology Review, 36(3), 361–382. doi:10.1080/01443410802379085.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demaray, M. K., & Malecki, C. K. (2003). Perceptions of the frequency and importance of social support by students classified as victims, bullies, and bully/victims in an urban middle school. School Psychology Review, 32(3), 471–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVoe, J. F., Peter, K., Noonan, M., Snyder, T. D., & Baum, K. (2005). Indicators of school crime and safety: 2005 (NCES 2006–001/NCJ 210697). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, M. E., & Aalsma, M. C. (2005). Bullying and peer victimization: Position paper of the Society for Adolescent Medicine. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 88–91. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.09.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Espleage, D. L., & Swearer, S. M. (2003). Bullying in American schools: A social-ecological perspective on prevention and intervention. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Estell, D. B., Farmer, T. W., & Cairns, B. D. (2007). Bullies and victims in rural African American youth: Behavioral characteristics and social network placement. Aggressive Behavior, 33(2), 145–159. doi:10.1002/ab.20176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., Jolliffe, D., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Hill, K. G., & Kosterman, R. (2003). Comparing delinquency careers in court records and self-reports. Criminology, 41(3), 933–958. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb01009.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fekkes, M., Pijpers, F. I. M., Fredriks, A. M., Vogels, T., & Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P. (2006). Do bullied children get ill, or do ill children get bullied? A prospective cohort study on the relationship between bullying and health-related symptoms. Pediatrics, 117(5), 1568–1574. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-0187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Finch, W. H., & Bronk, K. C. (2011). Conducting confirmatory latent class analysis using Mplus. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 18(1), 132–151. doi:10.1080/10705511.2011.532732.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, K., Dulin, A., & Piko, B. (2010). Bullying and depressive symptomatology among low-income, African–American youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(6), 634–645. doi:10.1007/s10964-009-9426-8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Giang, M. T., & Graham, S. (2008). Using latent class analysis to identify aggressors and victims of peer harassment. Aggressive Behavior, 34(2), 203–213. doi:10.1002/ab.20233.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glover, D., Gough, G., Johnson, M., & Cartwright, N. (2000). Bullying in 25 secondary schools: Incidence, impact and intervention. Educational Research, 42(2), 141–156. doi:10.1080/001318800363782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S. (1992). “Most of the subjects were White and middle class”: Trends in published research on African Americans in selected APA journals, 1970–1989. American Psychologist, 47(5), 629–639. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.47.5.629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, S., & Juvonen, J. (2002). Ethnicity, peer harassment, and adjustment in middle school: An exploratory study. Journal of Early Adolescence, 22(2), 173–199. doi:10.1177/0272431602022002003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanish, L. D., & Guerra, N. G. (2000). The roles of ethnicity and school context in predicting children’s victimization by Peers. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(2), 201–223. doi:10.1023/a:1005187201519.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D., Nansel, T., Eitel, P., Crump, A., Saylor, K., Yu, K., et al. (2001). Bullies, victims, and bully/victims: Distinct groups of at-risk youth. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21(1), 29–49. doi:10.1177/0272431601021001002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hershfeldt, P., Sechrest, R., Pell, K., Rosenberg, M., Bradshaw, C. P., & Leaf, P. J. (2009). Double-check: A framework of cultural responsiveness applied to classroom behavior. Teaching Exceptional Children PLUS, 6(2), 2–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoover, J. H., Oliver, R., & Hazler, R. J. (1992). Bullying: Perceptions of adolescent victims in the Midwestern USA. School Psychology International, 13(1), 5–16. doi:10.1177/0143034392131001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoover, J. H., Oliver, R. L., & Thomson, K. A. (1993). Perceived victimization by school bullies: New research and future direction. The Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 32(2), 76–84. doi:10.1002/j.2164-4683.1993.tb00133.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juvonen, J., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2006). Ethnic diversity and perceptions of safety in Urban Middle Schools. Psychological Science, 17(5), 393–400. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01718.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larochette, A. C., Murphy, A. N., & Craig, W. M. (2010). Racial bullying and victimization in Canadian school-aged children. School Psychology International, 31(4), 389–408. doi:10.1177/0143034310377150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaVeist, T., Pollack, K., Thorpe, R., Fesahazion, R., & Gaskin, D. (2011). Place, not race: Disparities dissipate in Southwest Baltimore when blacks and whites live under similar conditions. Health Affairs, 30(10), 1880–1887. doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0640.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leff, S. S., Angelucci, J., Goldstein, A. B., Cardaciotto, L., Paskewich, B., & Grossman, M. B. (2007). Using a participatory action research model to create a school-based intervention program for relationally aggressive girls–The friend to friend program. In J. E. Zins, M. J. Elias, & C. A. Maher (Eds.), Bullying, victimization, and peer harassment: A handbook of prevention and intervention (pp. 199–218). New York, NY: Haworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leff, S. S., Cassano, M., MacEvoy, J. P., & Costigan, T. (2010a). Initial validation of a knowledge-based measure of social information processing and anger management. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38(7), 1007–1020. doi:10.1007/s10802-010-9419-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leff, S. S., Waasdorp, T. E., Paskewich, B., Gullan, R. L., Jawad, A. F., MacEvoy, J. P., et al. (2010b). The preventing relational aggression in schools everyday program: A preliminary evaluation of acceptability and impact. School Psychology Review, 39(4), 569–587.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88(3), 767–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovegrove, P. J., Henry, K. L., & Slater, M. D. (2012). Examination of the predictors of latent class typologies of bullying involvement among Middle School students. Journal of School Violence, 11(1), 75–93. doi:10.1080/15388220.2011.631447.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCutcheon, A. L. (1987). Latent class analysis (Vol. 7). Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. O. (2004). Latent variable analysis: Growth mixture modeling and related techniques for longitudinal data. In D. Kaplan (Ed.), The Sage handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences (pp. 345–368). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus user’s guide, 6th edn. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

  • Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, W., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying behaviors among us youth: Prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 285(16), 2094–2100. doi:10.1001/jama.285.16.2094.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguera, P. (2003). The trouble with black boys: The role and influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic performance of African American males. Urban Education, 38(4), 431–459. doi:10.1177/0042085903038004005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K., Asparouhov, T., & Muthen, B. (2007a). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(4), 535–569. doi:10.1080/10705510701575396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K., Bellmore, A., Nishina, A., & Graham, S. (2007b). Subtypes, severity, and structural stability of peer victimization: What does latent class analysis say? Child Development, 78(6), 1706–1722. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01097.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brennan, L., Bradshaw, C. P., & Sawyer, A. L. (2009). Examining developmental differences in the social-emotional problems among frequent bullies, victims, and bully/victims. Psychology in the Schools., 46(2), 100–115. doi:10.1002/pits.20357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olweus, D. (1993). Bullies on the playground: The role of victimization. In C. H. Hart (Ed.), Children on playgrounds: Research perspectives and applications (Vol. SUNY series, Children’s play in society). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

  • Pena, J., Matthieu, M., Zayas, L., Masyn, K., & Caine, E. (2012). Co-occurring risk behaviors among White, Black, and Hispanic US high school adolescents with suicide attempts requiring medical attention, 1999–2007: Implications for future prevention initiatives. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 47(1), 29–42. doi:10.1007/s00127-010-0322-z.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peskin, M. F., Tortolero, S. R., & Markham, C. M. (2006). Bullying and victimization among Black and Hispanic adolescents. Adolescence, 41(163), 467–484.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rigby, K. (1998). The relationship between reported health and involvement in bully/victim problems among male and female secondary school children. Journal of Health Psychology, 3(4), 465–476. doi:10.1177/135910539800300402.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodkin, P., Farmer, T., Pearl, R., & Van Acker, R. (2000). Heterogeneity of popular boys: Antisocial and prosocial configurations. Developmental Psychology, 36(1), 14–24. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.36.1.14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1993). Resilience: Some conceptual considerations. Journal of Adolescent Health, 14(8), 626–631. doi:10.1016/1054-139X(93)90196-V.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sawyer, A. L., Bradshaw, C. P., & O’Brennan, L. M. (2008). Examining ethnic, gender, and developmental differences in the way children report being a victim of ‘bullying’ on self-report measures. Journal of Adolescent Health, 43(2), 106–114. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.12.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster, M. A., Elliott, M. N., Kanouse, D. E., Wallander, J. L., Tortolero, S. R., Ratner, J. A., et al. (2012). Racial and ethnic health disparities among fifth-graders in three cities. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367(8), 735–745. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa1114353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, D. (2000). Subtypes of victims and aggressors in children’s peer groups. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28(2), 181–192. doi:10.1023/A:1005174831561.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, G. (1978). Estimating the dimension of a model. The Annals of Statistics, 6(2), 461–464. doi:10.1214/aos/1176344136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sclove, S. L. (1987). Application of model-selection criteria to some problems in multivariate analysis. Psychometrika, 52(3), 333–343. doi:10.1007/BF02294360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seals, D., & Young, J. (2003). Bullying and victimization: Prevalence and relationship to gender, grade level, ethnicity, self-esteem, and depression. Adolescence, 38(152), 735–747.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Selekman, J., & Vessey, J. A. (2004). Bullying: It isn’t what it used to be. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 30, 246–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirley, E. L. M., & Cornell, D. G. (2012). The contribution of student perceptions of school climate to understanding the disproportionate punishment of African American students in a middle school. School Psychology International, 33(2), 115–134. doi:10.1177/0143034311406815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sidanius, J., & Pratto, F. (1999). Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Spriggs, A. L., Iannotti, R. J., Nansel, T. R., & Haynie, D. L. (2007). Adolescent bullying involvement and perceived family, peer and school relations: Commonalities and differences across race/ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(3), 283–293. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.04.009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Storch, E. A., Phil, M., Nock, M. K., Masia-Warner, C., & Barlas, M. E. (2003). Peer victimization and social-psychological adjustment in Hispanic and African American children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 12(4), 439–452. doi:10.1023/A:1026016124091.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swearer, S. M., Espelage, D., Vaillancourt, T., & Hymel, S. (2010). What can be done about school bullying? Linking research to educational practice. Educational Researcher, 39(1), 38–47. doi:10.3102/0013189X09357622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolan, P. H., Gorman-Smith, D., & Henry, D. B. (2003). The developmental ecology of urban males’ youth violence. Developmental Psychology, 39(2), 274–291. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.2.274.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Varjas, K., Henrich, C. C., & Meyers, J. (2009). Urban Middle School students’ perceptions of bullying, cyberbullying, and school safety. Journal of School Violence, 8(2), 159–176. doi:10.1080/15388220802074165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veenstra, R., Lindenberg, S., Oldehinkel, A. J., De Winter, A. F., Verhulst, F. C., & Ormel, J. (2005). Bullying and victimization in elementary schools: A comparison of bullies, victims, bully/victims, and uninvolved preadolescents. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 672–682. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.672.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Luk, J. W. (2012). Patterns of adolescent bullying behaviors: Physical, verbal, exclusion, rumor, and cyber. Journal of School Psychology, 50(4), 521–534. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2012.03.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., Luk, J. W., & Nansel, T. R. (2010). Co-occurrence of victimization from five subtypes of bullying: Physical, verbal, social exclusion, spreading rumors, and cyber. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 35(10), 1103–1112. doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsq048.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, J., Iannotti, R. J., & Nansel, T. J. (2009). School bullying among adolescents in the United States: Physical, verbal, relational, and cyber. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(4), 368–375. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.03.021.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y. C., Lee, C. M., Lew-Ting, C. Y., Hsiao, C. K., Chen, D. R., & Chen, W. J. (2005). Survey of substance use among high school students in Taipei: Web-based questionnaire versus paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37(4), 289–295. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.03.017.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williford, A., Brisson, D., Bender, K., Jenson, J., & Forrest-Bank, S. (2011). Patterns of aggressive behavior and peer victimization from childhood to early adolescence: A latent class analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40(6), 644–655. doi:10.1007/s10964-010-9583-9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Support for this project comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K01CE001333-01; 1U49CE00728-011). AG made substantial contributions to data analyses, interpretation of results, drafting, critiquing, and revising the manuscript. TW made substantial contributions to interpretation of results, critiquing, and revising the manuscript. CB obtained funding, made substantial contributions to study design, interpretation of results, critiquing, and revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Asha Goldweber, Tracy Evian Waasdorp & Catherine P. Bradshaw

  2. 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA

    Asha Goldweber

Authors
  1. Asha Goldweber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Tracy Evian Waasdorp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Catherine P. Bradshaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Asha Goldweber.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goldweber, A., Waasdorp, T.E. & Bradshaw, C.P. Examining Associations Between Race, Urbanicity, and Patterns of Bullying Involvement. J Youth Adolescence 42, 206–219 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9843-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9843-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation