Bullying victimization has caused devastating effects, from physical and mental health issues to suicides and school shootings. There is a plethora of research on this topic; however, a certain population is often mistreated more than others, disabled students. Disabled students tend to get bullied more often than non-disabled students and are less likely to be able to defend themselves. Investigation on this topic is imperative so that researchers can create methods to combat bullying against these vulnerable individuals. The following chapter addresses bullying victimization among disabled students which includes but is not limited to research on victimization, perpetration, theoretical frameworks, and prevention.
TopIntroduction
Bullying victimization has become a ubiquitous issue that has led to devastating and, in some instances, lethal outcomes. Bullying refers to the intentional and repeated harassment of an individual through physical, psychological, or verbal means (Olweus, 2013, 1995). Negative effects associated with bullying victimization include physical problems (Gini & Pozzoli, 2009), mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and self-harm (Eyuboglu, Eyuboglu, Pala, Oktar, Demirtas, Arslantas, & Unsal, 2021; Turner, Exum, Brame, & Holt, 2013), suicidal attempts (Hertz, Donato, & Wright, 2013), and school shootings (Sommer, Leuschner, & Scheithauer, 2014). In addition, it is commonplace that victims become bullies themselves as a form of retaliation (Van Cleave & Davis, 2006).
Some of the best techniques to combat bullying victimization consist of parental and administrative intervention. It is crucial for parents to advocate for their children; it is equally important for school administrators to recognize problems and intervene quickly before the bullying leads to major detrimental effects. Two of the most critical individuals to deter bullying victimization are teachers in the classrooms and bystanders. Teachers can set standards and watch for bullying perpetration in the classroom, while bystanders (i.e., students in hallways, bathrooms, playgrounds, and other places where school staff are infrequent) can spot bullying victimization outside of the classroom (American Educational Research Association, 2013). Additional strategies to combat bullying include empathy training, creating a positive school climate, building social capital, and prevention programs.
Much research has been completed on the topic; however, one of the most vulnerable populations tends to get overlooked, disabled persons. Specifically, disabled students tend to get harassed significantly more than those who do not have a disability (Haegele, Aigner, & Healy, 2020; Iyanda, 2022; Njelesani, Si, & Swarm, 2022; Rose, Espelage, Aragon, & Elliott, 2011a; Rose & Gage, 2017); however, the literature is sparse on this topic. The following chapter will address several areas of bullying victimization associated with disabled students, including definitions, negative effects, variables that influence victimization, variables that influence perpetration, demographic characteristics, theoretical explanations, and prevention.