Evaluations of a bullying case involving a victim with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

We investigated how people determine whether a specific occurrence of aggression between students constitutes bullying and how they think perpetrators should be treated. In two experiments, we examined perceptions of relational bullying at a university involving a victim who admits to engaging in socially inappropriate behavior. Participants were assigned to one of three victim disability conditions: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dyslexia, or no disability. They listened to a recording of a disciplinary hearing and made several evaluations (e.g., verdict). Participants' judgments were more likely to favor the victim if they learned that he had ASD rather than dyslexia or no disability. Observers may view an ASD diagnosis as a reasonable explanation for behaving inappropriately and therefore excuse the victim's conduct.

Service providers’ perceptions of and responses to bullying of individuals with disabilities

“…Because verbal and relational bullying, which are often difficult to detect, were viewed as the most common forms of victimization, it is critical that service providers learn to identify these forms of bullying as they are often difficult to recognize in this population specifically with regard to establishing intent to harm and the presence of a power imbalance (Gladden et al, 2014;Nickerson et al, 2014). In addition to knowledge regarding the nature of verbal and relational bullying, seeking educational resources is likely to help service providers address concerns about cyberbullying and individuals with disabilities.…”

“…We expected service providers to be more likely to use and to perceive action and support strategies as more effective than those strategies that minimize or ignore the problem (Bauman et al, 2008; Blood et al, 2010; Bradshaw et al, 2007; DeVoe et al, 2005; Kochenderfer-Ladd and Pelletier, 2008). It was anticipated that service providers would attribute bullying to individual differences, social differences, and/or the individual’s behavior (Gentry et al, 2015 ). Strategies used were expected to vary based on the forms of bullying witnessed and their attributions about it; specifically, relational victimization may not be addressed as readily as physical victimization (Bauman and Del Rio, 2006; Jacobsen and Bauman, 2007; Maunder et al, 2010).…”

“…Bullying is a pervasive social problem that has been studied internationally (Carter and Spencer, 2006) and across educational settings for over 20 years (Carney and Merrell, 2001). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the three main components of bullying include intent to harm, presence of a power imbalance and repetition over time (Gladden et al, 2014). Furthermore, bullying can be implemented via direct or indirect methods and may take several forms including physical, verbal, relational, and cyber (Gladden et al, 2014).…”