Race, bullying, and psychological well-being at transition to secondary school: The ALSPAC Cohort

1. Race, bullying, and psychological well-being at transition to secondary school:The ALSPAC Cohort Amy Hawkins BACCH Annual Scientific Meeting 9th October 2012

2. Content • Introduction • Aim • Methods • Results • Discussion, including study limitations and implications of our findings

3. Introduction • Studies from the US have suggested that transition from primary to secondary education is an ‘at risk’ time for bullying, particularly amongst minority racial groups1,2 • The degree of inter-racial mixing declines as children progress through school3,4 • Little published evidence from the UK • Pre-existing data from the ALSPAC cohort not yet examined 1 Bradshaw et al, 2009; 2Nansel et al, 2001; 3Virdee et al, 2000; 4Pitts et al. 2001

4. The Avon Area • Transatlantic slave trade • African-Caribbean and Somali communities in St Pauls, Montpellier and Easton • Predominantly white population

5. Aim • To examine the differences between white, mixed race and ethnic minority children at the transition to secondary school in terms of: • Bullying • Racial attitudes and friendships • Behavioural difficulties • Mood • Self-esteem

6. Methods 1 • The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): • Children living in Avon with estimated dates of delivery between April 1991 and December 1992 • 15,247 women enrolled during pregnancy5 • 15,211 children surviving to 1 year5 5 Boyd et al, 2012

7. Methods 2 • Study subgroup completed racial attitudes questions from ‘all around me’ at 12 years (n=7017) • Self-defined racial categorisation at 12 years based on skin colour • 3 categories for meaningful statistical analysis: ‘white’, ‘mixed colour’, ‘racial minority’

8. Methods 3 • Primary outcome: • Bullying at 12.5 years (compared with 8 years) • Secondary outcomes: • Discrimination, racial attitudes and friendships at 12 years, mood at 10.5 and 14 years, self-esteem at 14 years • Behavioural difficulties at 11.5 years • Statistical methodology • STATA: chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests • Logistic regression controlling for gender, maternal education and early puberty

9. Results 1: Demographics • Self-defined racial group at 12 years (n=7017):

10. Results 2: Bullying • No significant difference in risk of bullying at 8 years • Overt bullying at 12.5 years (n=1236): • Baseline bullying prevalence amongst white children 40.34% • Relational bullying: no significant difference * Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

11. Results 3: Racial discrimination • Verbal and physical racial discrimination at 12 years (n=4991):* * Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

12. Results 4: Friendships • No significant differences in racial attitudes at 145 months (12.08 years) • Mixed race children were more likely to retain friends of a different skin colour at the transition to secondary school (n=4991) • There was no significant difference for ethnic minority children • OR 2.34, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.70* * Adjusted for gender, maternal education and early puberty

13. Results 5: Mood, behaviour and self-esteem • No statistically significant association between racial group and... • Depression score at 10.5 or 14 years • Behavioural difficulties at 11.5 years • Racial attitudes at 12 years • Self-esteem at 14 years

14. Discussion 1: Summary • No difference between racial groups in risk of bullying at 8 years • Ethnic minority but not mixed race children have an increased risk of being bullied at 12.5 years • A decline in inter-racial friendships at the transition to secondary school, except for mixed race children • No differences between racial groups in terms of mood, behaviour, racial attitudes or self-esteem

15. Discussion 2: Limitations • Relatively small proportion of non-white children; ‘racial minority’ groups had to be grouped together • Children were asked about ‘skin colour’ rather than race or ethnicity • Fewer ethnic minority inhabitants than some UK cities • Missing data (social and educational bias)

16. Discussion 3: Results in Context • Increased risk of bullying amongst ethnic minority children6,7 • New social hierarchy8 • Puberty9 • Inter-racial mixing declines at the transition to secondary school3,4, although not for mixed race children • Complex relationship between racial discrimination , mood and behavioural disorders10,11,12,13 6(Espelage and Swearer 2003) 7(Smith, Madsen and Moody 1999) 8(Pellegrini and Long 2002) 9(Collins 2003) 3(Virdee et al. 2000) 4(Pitts et al. 2001) 10(Coker et al. 2009) 11(Brody et al. 2006) 12(Paradies 2006) 13(Huynh and Fuligni 2010)

17. Discussion 4: Implications • Wide-reaching implications for health professionals and educationalists • For paediatricians, the key challenge is to focus on periods of transition to re-assess and support vulnerable children • Schools need to take positive action to protect ethnic minority and mixed race children

18. Thank you for listening Any questions?

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