The toxic duo: Bullying involvement and adverse childhood experiences as factors associated with school disengagement among children

Philip Baiden, Catherine A. LaBrenz, Lucinda Okine, Shawndaya Thrasher and Gladys Asiedua-Baiden

Children and Youth Services Review, 2020, vol. 119, issue C

Abstract: Although studies have examined the effects of bullying victimization and adverse childhood experiences on health and mental health outcomes, few studies have examined bullying involvement and adverse childhood experiences as factors associated with school disengagement among children in the US. The objective of this study is to examine bullying involvement and adverse childhood experiences as factors associated with school disengagement among children in the US. Data for this study came from the 2016–2017 National Survey of Children’s Health. A sample of 45,041 children ages 6–17 years was analyzed using binary logistic regression with school disengagement as the outcome variable. Based on parent reports, we found that about one-third of the children were disengaged from school, 23% were involved in bullying, and 49.5% experienced at least one childhood adversity. Children who were victims of bullying, were bullies, or were bully-victims were more likely to be disengaged from school. Odds of school disengagement were 1.32 times higher for children with one ACE (95% CI = 1.24–1.40), 1.5 times higher for children with two ACEs (95% CI = 1.38–1.62), and 1.77 times higher for children with three or more ACEs (95% CI = 1.63–1.92). Understanding the association between bullying involvement and adverse childhood experiences as factors associated with school disengagement could help educators utilize supportive and caring relationships to engage students. Such an understanding could also help in developing proactive and preventive interventions to curb bullying in schools and make students feel safe and engaged in classrooms.

Keywords: School disengagement; Bullying involvement; Adverse childhood experiences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:119:y:2020:i:c:s0190740920307842

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105383

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