Correlates of school bullying victimization among Black/White biracial adolescents: Are they similar to their monoracial Black and White peers?

Guided by the social-ecological perspective, we examined familial, peer, and school-related predictors of bullying victimization among a large sample of U.S. White, Black, and biracial adolescents. Data were drawn from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children study, drawn from adolescents who self-identified as White, Black, or biracial. Of the total sample, 3211 were White, 1188 were Black, and 175 were biracial. Adolescents completed measures of bullying victimization, perceptions of family relations, peer relationships, and school connectedness. Biracial students reported more bullying victimization than White and Black students. For biracial adolescents, family affluence off, and negative perceptions of other students were both found to be positively associated with victimization. For Whites, age, difficulty in talking with parents, parents sometimes like me to make my own decision, parents almost never like me to make my own decisions were negatively associated with victimization. On the other hand, talking with friends and negative perceptions of other students were positively associated with victimization. Among Blacks, age, and parents who almost never like me to make my own decisions were negatively associated with victimization. However, a parent who is almost never loving was positively associated with victimization. Implications for future research and school-based practice are provided.