Bullying among Teens: Are Ethnicity and Race Risk Factors for Victimization? A Bibliometric Research

Racism as a social determinant of health: Link to school-related psychosocial stressors in a population-based sample of African adolescents in Canada

BACKGROUND

Racism is a social determinant of health that links to the health and well-being of racial/ethnic marginalized populations. However, perceived racism among African Canadian adolescents has not been adequately addressed, especially the link between racism and psychosocial stressors in school settings.

AIM

The aim of the current study was to assess racism and the link to school-related psychosocial stressors in a population-based sample of African Canadian adolescents.

DESIGN

Secondary analysis of the population-based 2018 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey dataset.

METHODS

Logistic regression and generalized linear models tested the link between racism and psychosocial stressors among African Canadian adolescents (n = 942), adjusting for sociodemographic factors.

RESULTS/FINDINGS

More than 38% of the adolescents reported racism in the year preceding the survey. Regardless of gender and birthplace, and controlling for covariates, those who experienced racism were significantly more likely to report peer victimization, which includes teasing, social exclusion, cyberbullying and sexual harassment, and they felt less safe and connected to their schools compared to those who did not experience racism. With gender and birthplace differences, those who reported racism had higher odds of having been physically assaulted, stayed away from school, reported negative emotional responses and used avoidant behaviours to evade racism.

CONCLUSION

African Canadian adolescents are a visible racialized ethnic group in British Columbia, who are at heightened risk of racism and the associated psychosocial stressors.

IMPACT

These findings demonstrate the influences of racism on psychosocial stressors and related emotional responses among African Canadian adolescents. Nurses and other healthcare providers should be cognizant of racism and the psychological impacts when providing care to "at-risk" populations. Promoting positive and inclusive school climates and addressing racism at all levels of the society will foster better social integration, as well as improve the health and academic achievement of African Canadian adolescents.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

We presented the research and preliminary results of the data analysis to the African community (parents and adolescents who self-identify as African). The African community who attended the gathering corroborated the link between racism and health and reiterated that addressing these psychosocial stressors can promote adolescent health and well-being. The attendees accepted all the variables that we included in the analysis. However, they emphasized the need for more African representation among school staff and teachers to foster trust, feelings of safety and connectedness, and to promote African students' academic achievement and well-being. They stressed the need to train and build the capacities of the school staff and teachers so that they can assist students regardless of race. They emphasized the need to promote cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity among all healthcare providers. We included the recommendations in the appropriate sections of the manuscript.

Correlational study on cyberbullying and social abilities in intercultural teenagers

This article analyzes the relationship between cyberbullying profile by racist reasons and social abilities in a group of intercultural teenagers living in Spain (N = 1478). The study includes participants aged between 12 and 16 years old (M = 13.99; SD = 1.352). Of these, 738 were male (49.9%) and 740 were female (50.1%). A correlational study was carried out using online tools with suitable psychometrics parameters (content-construct validity and reliability). The first one was a scale that measured social abilities, and the second one evaluated racist or xenophobic cyberbullying, differentiating the victim and aggressor profiles. The results indicated five main findings: (1) generally, the participants analyzed present all their social abilities; (2) for the most part, these participants do not normally experience cyberbullying; (3) a positive correlation exists between the majority of social abilities analyzed and the cybervictim profile. It was also observed a negative correlation between the social ability associated with the ability of making requests and this profile; (4) there is a positive correlation among the six social abilities analyzed and the cyberaggressor profile; (5) the racist or xenophobic cyberbullying are driven not only by the absence of social abilities, but in some cases, they are also driven by socio-demographic variables (i.e., age and gender). Likewise, this work shows how the absence of some social abilities in some participants involve racist or xenophobic experiences as victims and as aggressors, which may be of interest for the analysis of teenagers’ behavior in intercultural contexts, as well as according to age and gender. More transcultural research need to be carried out to know the global perspective of the link between social abilities and the different profiles of racist and xenophobic cyberbullying, framed in the context of social psychology and studies of mass communication.

Dating Violence: A Bibliometric Review of the Literature in Web of Science and Scopus

This study has the general purpose of improving the understanding and description of the field of violence in young couple relationships by means of a bibliometric analysis. A descriptive and transversal-retrospective methodology is used, the objective of which is to describe in a quantitative way the information obtained from the production of 842 references registered in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The results show that during 2017 and 2018, the majority of publications were concentrated, highlighting that the United States is the country with the highest amount of scientific production on violence in intimate relationships. It is important to highlight that more and more countries are investigating this subject, highlighting an increase in production from 2015 onwards. The violence that occurs in the relationships of young couples is a global social and health problem that requires research to be able to deepen its knowledge and in the prevention of this social scourge.

Trajectories of Victimization and Bullying at University: Prevention for a Healthy and Sustainable Educational Environment

The bullying phenomenon is both an uncomfortable reality and a serious social problem for educational community institutions. Its presence is incompatible with a healthy and sustainable education environment. The educational, psychological, and social consequences of bullying transcend the personal sphere and reach the family and work environment in adulthood. Traditionally, bullying has been studied in the compulsory educational stages. However, at present, this problem is also being addressed in higher education. The present research, which is of a transversal nature, aims to explore bullying in the Spanish university setting, along with its typology, scope, and predictive factors, from both socio-demographic and family perspectives. In this sense, we set ourselves the following objectives: (GO1) to see if university students are exposed to bullying, as well as to identify the profiles of the subjects of bullying from three dimensions (physical, relational, and verbal victimization) and (GO2) to determine whether there are trajectories of bullying in university students from the compulsory education stage to the present. Based on a descriptive quantitative methodology, this study was conducted in 10 Spanish universities. The research’s major results show that the persistence of bullying in university classrooms is of a relational and verbal nature, but is not physical. Victimization occurs mainly in women who carry out studies linked to social and legal sciences or art and the humanities. Additionally, it is observed that a spiral of relational violence is produced, perpetuating this type of aggression over time. Among other predictive factors in university students is that they have suffered relational violence during their compulsory education. These data should alert educational and health institutions about the persistence of bullying in university students to prevent it and to facilitate its early detection and treatment to eradicate this problem from higher education classrooms.