Bullying Victimization and Bully Prevention Programs as Predictors of Classroom Peer Support for Immigrant and US-born Students

Abstract

Introduction: On average, one in four students in US schools are part of immigrant families, and school is the main place they engage with US-born peers. Their ability to thrive in the classroom can be impacted by both bullying and support of peers and teachers. Objective: This paper sought to understand the relationships between bullying victimization, bullying prevention programs, and school mental health staff on classroom peer support, noting differences among immigrant and US-born students. Methodology: Data are from 7 881 fifth to tenth graders from The Health Behavior in School Children (HBSC) cross-sectional survey. Stata was used to run descriptive statistics, t-tests, and a Hierarchical Linear Model (HLM) to examine the extent to which different supports, victimizations, and demographics influence the level of peer support that students sense in the classroom. Results and discussion: Results indicate no difference in levels of peer support between immigrant and US-born students. However, the influence of interpersonal bullying victimization had a negative relationship with peer support for both US-born and immigrant students across multiple models. Similarly, bullying prevention programs were a significant predictor of increased peer support across multiple models. Conclusion: Implications suggest more research on the topic, and advocacy for bullying prevention programs that are peer led and intentionally account for immigrant students.