Correlates of Perceptions of Bullying at School among First Nations Youth Living Off Reserve

Abstract

This study described perceptions of bullying as a school characteristic and associations with school, academic, and health characteristics among a representative sample of First Nations high school students living off reserve in Canada using data from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. Almost 4 in 10 of First Nations youth living off reserve perceived bullying as a problem at their schools. A perceived climate of bullying co-occurred with other negative school climate characteristics such as racism, violence, and the presence of alcohol and drugs. First Nations youth living off reserve who perceived bullying as a problem at school reported higher psychological distress and a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation, even after controlling for the effects of youth sex, age, and household income. These findings highlight the need to focus on school characteristics as perceived by youth to improve school climate and youth health.

Racism and Indigenous Adolescent Development: A Scoping Review

“…Four studies (CAN = 1; NA = 1; and AUS = 2) examined relations between racism and bullying (Arim et al., 2020; Melander et al., 2013; Priest et al., 2019; Priest et al., 2016). Arim et al.…”

“…Arim et al. (2020) found that First Nations Canadian youth who perceived high levels of bullying at school were likely to report high levels of perceived discrimination; bullying was then linked to psychological distress and lifetime suicidal ideation. Melander et al.…”

“…The frequency of perceived discrimination varied across the studies but always fell within the low to mid ranges (see Table S2 for descriptives). Frequencies of racist experiences more broadly varied across studies, ranging from 18% (Arim et al, 2020) to 50% of participants (Chen, 2003) experiencing a racist act in the last year. Notably, a large proportion of Native American participants in both Garrett et al (2017) and Chen (2003) reported never experiencing racial discrimination, and the majority of those who did in Garrett et al, found it to be "not very disturbing."…”

“…Four studies (CAN = 1; NA = 1; and AUS = 2) examined relations between racism and bullying (Arim et al, 2020;Melander et al, 2013;Priest et al, 2019;Priest et al, 2016). Arim et al (2020) found that First Nations Canadian youth who perceived high levels of bullying at school were likely to report high levels of perceived discrimination; bullying was then linked to psychological distress and lifetime suicidal ideation. Melander et al (2013) also found that perceived discrimination was associated with being a bully, a victim, and a victim/perpetrator.…”