An Examination of Gender Differences in Bullying among Justice-involved Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Most studies of bullying rely on school-based samples of youth; however, a few studies of justice-involved populations suggest delinquent youth experience higher rates of bullying than youth in the general population. Little is known about gender differences in bullying among justice-involved youth. Using data from a Health Coach service project for justice-involve youth implemented at two intake facilities, 312 female and 857 male newly arrested youth were included in the current study. The current study sought to determine gender differences in prevalence rates of bullying involvement. Logistic regression was used to explore gender differences in how key covariates of demographic, risk factors, and traumatic experiences related to bullying. Rates of bullying experiences were higher for girls (35%) than boys (17%), and these rates were higher than rates reported in studies using general population or school-based samples. Analysis revealed differences in risk factors of bullying by gender. For both arrested girls and boys, depressive symptoms and sexual assault victimization increased the odds of bullying. Justice-involved youth are at greater risk of bullying and experience multiple problems. Holistic treatment and prevention strategies that recognize the co-occurrence of mental health symptoms, serious victimization, and substance abuse with bullying experiences are needed.

KEYWORDS:

• bullying
• justice-involved youth
• juvenile justice
• risk factors
• gender differences

Declaration of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Financial disclosure

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

Notes

¹ Due to space concerns only analyses for youth entering the urban JAC are presented. Analyses for youth entering the rural JAC are available upon request.

Additional information

Funding

No external funding for this manuscript.

Notes on contributors

Richard Dembo

Richard Dembo is a Professor of Criminology at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He has conducted extensive research on the relationship between drug use and delinquency, and helped develop new services in the juvenile justice system in which he remains deeply involved.

Julie M. Krupa

Julie M. Krupa is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. She complete her Ph.D. at the University of South Florida. Her research interests include communities and crime, juvenile corrections, and the intersection between public health and juvenile justice.

Jessica Faber

Jessica Faber is a Juvenile Assessment Center Program Director for the Agency for Community Treatment Services, Inc. Her responsibilities include oversight of Health Coach project services.

Ralph J. DiClemente

Ralph J. DiClemente is Professor and Chair, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Dean, College of Global Public Health. He has published extensively in the area of adolescent vulnerability, in particular focusing on risk-taking behaviors.

Jennifer Wareham

Jennifer Wareham is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Wayne State University. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology from the University of South Florida. Her research focuses on juvenile justice and delinquency, intimate partner violence, and program evaluation.

James Schmeidler

James Schmeidler is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, primarily collaborating in research on cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. He was a Research Scientist at the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.