Mental Health Impact of Bullying by Ethnic Peers in Senior Housing: A Study with Older Korean American Residents in the Greater Los Angeles Area

ABSTRACT

Using data from Korean-American residents (N = 343) in subsidized senior housing in the Los Angeles area, we examined the effect of peer bullying on mental health. About 18% of the sample had been a target of bullying, and over 31% had witnessed someone being bullied. Being a target of bullying was a significant predictor for both depressive symptoms and anxiety, whereas witnessing other residents being bullied was a significant predictor for anxiety only. Findings shed light on the adverse mental health impacts of peer bullying among ethnic minority older residents in senior housing.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer bullying
• older immigrants
• subsidized senior housing
• mental health
• older Korean Americans

Acknowledgments

Data collection was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (R21DE029579, PI: Yuri Jang, PhD). The study was partially supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020S1A5C2A03092919).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research [R21DE029579]; National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-2020S1A5C2A03092919].