Citation

Holmgren E, Raaska H, Lapinleimu H, Elovainio M. Violence Vict. 2019; 34(6): 930-951.

Affiliation

National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-18-00157

PMID

31836644

Abstract

This study examined the risks and protective factors for experiencing bullying and especially racist bullying among internationally adopted children in Finland. Factors examined were related to children's background, adoptive family, children's social problems and social skills, and their associations with bullying experiences. About 56.9% of children reported bullying victimization and 24.2% racist bullying victimization. Boys were at bigger risk of becoming bullied (B = 0.14, p <.05), as were children with disability (B = 0.11; p <.05). The continent of birth (European; B = 0.51; p <.001) and adoptive family's lower socioeconomic status (SES; B = 0.16; p <.05) were associated with increased victimization. Child's social problems increased the likelihood of victimization for both general (B = 0.59, p <.001) and racist bullying (B = 0.10, p <.001). Child's social skills appeared as a protective factor against general bullying (B = 3.87; p >.001). This study shows that interventions for tackling children's social problems and improving their social skills may reduce children's risk for bullying involvement.

© Copyright 2019 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Language: en

Keywords

bullying; international adoption; racist discrimination; social problems; social skills