Bullying in a Multicultural Context: The Influences of Race, Immigrant Status, and School Climate on the Incidence of Bullying in Canadian Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Strong group affiliations based on race have been found in children at a very young age (Aboud, 1988) and may lead to a higher risk of involvement in bullying for certain racial groups. Little research, however, has addressed the relationship among bullying, race, and immigrant status in a Canadian sample. As well, few studies have directly examined racial bullying and victimization. Thus, the two studies in the current project aim to examine race and immigrant status as individual risk factors for bullying involvement, while also examining the individual- and school-level factors associated with racial bullying. In Chapter Two, an empirical examination of the relationship among race, immigrant status, and bullying and victimization in adolescence reveals that racial minority adolescents experience racial bullying. Immigrant status, however, does not appear to predict victimization, but it may be a risk factor for bullying others. In Chapter Three, a multilevel investigation of racial bullying and victimization at the individual and school levels indicates that African-Canadian students are at risk of engaging in both racial bullying and victimization, and that being male is also associated with participation in this type of bullying. At the school level, school climate is not found to account for the differences in racial bullying and victimization across schools, but increased school support is associated with decreased racial bullying in schools with more teacher diversity. Together, the results of the current research clarify the roles of race and immigrant status in bullying and victimization, but these results also raise important concerns and further questions regarding possible interventions in schools for students who engage in racial bullying and racial victimization.