Amy HawkinsBACCH Annual Scientific Meeting

9th October 2012

ContentIntroductionAimMethodsResultsDiscussion, including study limitations and implications of

our findings

IntroductionStudies from the US have suggested that transition from

primary to secondary education is an ‘at risk’ time for bullying, particularly amongst minority racial groups1,2

The degree of inter-racial mixing declines as children progress through school3,4

Little published evidence from the UKPre-existing data from the ALSPAC cohort not yet

examined

1 Bradshaw et al, 2009; 2Nansel et al, 2001; 3Virdee et al, 2000; 4Pitts et al. 2001

The Avon AreaTransatlantic slave tradeAfrican-Caribbean and Somali

communities in St Pauls, Montpellier and Easton

Predominantly white population

AimTo examine the differences between white, mixed race

and ethnic minority children at the transition to secondary school in terms of:BullyingRacial attitudes and friendshipsBehavioural difficultiesMoodSelf-esteem

Methods 1The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

(ALSPAC): Children living in Avon with estimated dates of

delivery between April 1991 and December 199215,247 women enrolled during pregnancy5

15,211 children surviving to 1 year5

5 Boyd et al, 2012

Methods 2Study subgroup completed

racial attitudes questions from ‘all around me’ at 12 years (n=7017)

Self-defined racial categorisation at 12 years based on skin colour

3 categories for meaningful statistical analysis: ‘white’, ‘mixed colour’, ‘racial minority’

Methods 3Primary outcome:

Bullying at 12.5 years (compared with 8 years)Secondary outcomes:

Discrimination, racial attitudes and friendships at 12 years, mood at 10.5 and 14 years, self-esteem at 14 years

Behavioural difficulties at 11.5 yearsStatistical methodology

STATA: chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests Logistic regression controlling for gender, maternal education

and early puberty

Results 1: DemographicsSelf-defined racial group at 12 years (n=7017):  

Child’s perception of his/her skin colour Frequency Percentage

White 6607 94.16

Mixed Colour 255 3.63

Asian 48 0.68

Black 42 0.60

Other 65 0.93

Total 7017 100

Results 2: BullyingNo significant difference in risk of bullying at 8 years Overt bullying at 12.5 years (n=1236):

Baseline bullying prevalence amongst white children 40.34%Relational bullying: no significant difference

* Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

Bullying prevalence Logistic regression*

Mixed Colour 42.9% OR 1.00(95% CI 0.52 to 1.93)

Ethnic minority 65.7% OR 3.49(95% CI 1.42 to 8.59)

Results 3: Racial discriminationVerbal and physical racial discrimination at 12 years

(n=4991):* Verbal racial discrimination

Physical racial discrimination

Mixed Colour Prevalence 9.80%OR 6.63(95% CI 3.76 to 11.69)

Prevalence 31.37%OR 2.34 (95%CI 1.47 to 3.70)

Ethnic minority Prevalence 12.90%OR 8.29(95% CI 3.95 to 17.42)

Prevalence 32.90%OR 1.29(95% CI 0.74 to 2.24)

* Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

Results 4: FriendshipsNo significant differences in racial attitudes at 145

months (12.08 years)Mixed race children were more likely to retain friends of

a different skin colour at the transition to secondary school (n=4991)

There was no significant difference for ethnic minority children

OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.70*

* Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

Results 5: Mood, behaviour and self-esteemNo statistically significant association between racial

group and...1. Depression score at 10.5 or 14 years2. Behavioural difficulties at 11.5 years3. Racial attitudes at 12 years4. Self-esteem at 14 years

Discussion 1: SummaryNo difference between racial groups in risk of

bullying at 8 yearsEthnic minority but not mixed race children have an

increased risk of being bullied at 12.5 yearsA decline in inter-racial friendships at the transition

to secondary school, except for mixed race childrenNo differences between racial groups in terms of

mood, behaviour, racial attitudes or self-esteem

Discussion 2: LimitationsRelatively small proportion of non-white children;

‘racial minority’ groups had to be grouped togetherChildren were asked about ‘skin colour’ rather than

race or ethnicityFewer ethnic minority inhabitants than some UK

citiesMissing data (social and educational bias)

Discussion 3: Results in ContextIncreased risk of bullying amongst ethnic minority

children6,7

New social hierarchy8

Puberty9

Inter-racial mixing declines at the transition to secondary school3,4, although not for mixed race children

Complex relationship between racial discrimination , mood and behavioural disorders10,11,12,13

6(Espelage and Swearer 2003) 7(Smith, Madsen and Moody 1999) 8(Pellegrini and Long 2002) 9(Collins 2003) 3(Virdee et al. 2000) 4(Pitts et al. 2001) 10(Coker et al. 2009) 11(Brody et al. 2006) 12(Paradies 2006) 13(Huynh and Fuligni 2010)

Discussion 4: ImplicationsWide-reaching implications for health professionals

and educationalistsFor paediatricians, the key challenge is to focus on

periods of transition to re-assess and support vulnerable children

Schools need to take positive action to protect ethnic minority and mixed race children

Any questions?

References 11. Bradshaw C, Sawyer A & O'Brennan L. A social disorganization perspective on bullying-

related attitudes and behaviors: the influence of school context. American Journal of Community Psychology (2009); 43:204-20.

2. Nansel T R, Overpeck M, Pilla R S et al. Bullying behaviors among US youth. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association (2001); 285: 2094.

3. Virdee S, Modood T, Newburn T. Understanding racial harassment in school. Economic and Social Research Council (2000).

4. Pitts J, Marlow A, Porteous D et al. Inter-Group and Inter-Racial Violence and the Victimisation of School Students in a London Neighbourhood. ERSC (2001).

5. Boyd A, Golding J, Macleod J, Lawlor DA, Fraser A, Henderson J, Molloy L, Ness A, Ring S, Davey Smith G. Cohort profile: The ‘Children of the Nineties’- the index offspring of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Int J Epidemiol. 2012. Apr 16 [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1093/ije/dys064

6. Espelage D L, Swearer A M. Research on school bullying and victimization: What have we learned and where do we go from here? School Psychology Review (2003); 32: 365-383.

References 27. Smith P K, Madsen K C, Moody J C. What causes the age decline in reports of being bullied at

school? Towards a developmental analysis of risks of being bullied. Educational Research (1999); 41: 267-285.

8. Pellegrini A D, Long J D. A longitudinal study of bullying, dominance, and victimization during the transition from primary school through secondary school. British Journal of Developmental Psychology (2002); 20: 259-280.

9. Collins, W A. More than myth: The developmental significance of romantic relationships during adolescence. Journal of research on adolescence (2003); 13: 1-24.

10. Coker T, Elliott M, Kanouse D et al. Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination among fifth-grade students and its association with mental health. American Journal of Public Health (2009); 99: 878-84.

11. Brody G H, Chen Y F, Murry V M B et al. Perceived Discrimination and the Adjustment of African American Youths: A Five Year Longitudinal Analysis With Contextual Moderation Effects. Child Development (2006); 77: 1170-1189.

12. Paradies Y. A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health. International Journal of Epidemiology (2006); 35: 888.

13. Huynh V, Fuligni A. Discrimination Hurts: The Academic, Psychological, and Physical Well-Being of Adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence (2010); 20: 916-941.