Bullying Among Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Prevalence and Perception

Abstract

This study examined: (a) the prevalence of bullying and victimization among adolescents with ASD, (b) whether they correctly perceived bullying and victimization, and (c) whether Theory of Mind (ToM) and bullying involvement were related to this perception. Data were collected among 230 adolescents with ASD attending special education schools. We found prevalence rates of bullying and victimization between 6 and 46%, with teachers reporting significantly higher rates than peers. Furthermore, adolescents who scored high on teacher- and self-reported victimization were more likely to misinterpret non-bullying situations as bullying. The more often adolescents bullied, according to teachers and peers, and the less developed their ToM, the more they misinterpreted bullying situations as non-bullying. Implications for clinical practice are discussed.

Teasing, Ridiculing and the Relation to the Fear of Being Laughed at in Individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome

“…Also, Heerey et al (2005) found that teasing of individuals with autism is less playful and less good-natured than teasing of control children. Van Roekel et al (2010) reported a close relationship between being bullied and more poorly developed Theory of Mind skills. Here as well, we assume that decreased empathy and interpersonal sensitivity might be related to katagelasticism.…”

“…Furthermore, these individuals have been reported to have difficulties reading non-verbal cues (Asperger 1944;Attwood 2004), which may be highly important when distinguishing good-natured teasing from mean-spirited bullying. The particular importance of Theory of Mind in the context of bullying and teasing has recently been shown by Van Roekel et al (2010), who noted that the more often adolescents are bullied, and the less developed their Theory of Mind is, the more they misinterpret bullying situations as non-bullying. However, the assumption that a distorted Theory of Mind, including difficulties reading non-verbal signs, contributes to the development of gelotophobia needs further clarification in studies that test the relationship between Theory of Mind abilities and developing a fear of being laughed at, for example, in a longitudinal design.…”

“…He referred to, for example: ''….the language seems to be unnatural (…) which provokes derision'' (p. 114) or ''…they don't understand fun (…), one more reason why they get so often picked on'' (p. 127). In addition, there is also evidence from case and peer reports that children with AS were teased and laughed at by others because of their social naivety and behavior that might seem to be odd and awkward to other children (e.g., Attwood 2004;Carter 2009;Dubin 2007;Goodman 1987;Little 2002;Van Roekel et al 2010;Welkowitz and Baker 2005;Wing 1981). …”

‘I am who I am’: Reputation concerns in adolescents on the autism spectrum

“…Being different, however, is often not accepted by typical adolescents (Humphrey & Lewis, 2008;Martino & Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2005), therefore these results may have implications for inclusion practices by challenging what most typical adolescents consider "normal". Given the high rates of bullying in autism (Roekel, Scholte, & Didden, 2010), with autistic adolescents reporting that encounters with peers can be frequently hostile or negative (Carrington et al, 2003b;Williamson, Craig & Slinger, 2008), teaching typical children the positives of diversity (and neurodiversity) could be one way of improving autism acceptance. Finally, this study demonstrates the importance of enabling young people on the autistic spectrum to speak out about their social experiences, in this instance by revealing new insights into reputation concerns in autism.…”

Rejeição e vitimização por pares em crianças com Deficiência Intelectual e Transtorno do Espectro Autista

“…Cerca de 30% delas vivencia algum tipo de violência perpetrada por pares (BLAKE et al, 2012;SON et al, 2012;VAN ROEKEL et al, 2010). Pais e professores de adolescentes apresentam percepção da violência diferente da apresentada pelos jovens, uma vez que os primeiros relatam taxas ainda superiores de vitimização (CAPPADOCIA et al, 2012;STERZING et al, 2013).…”