Prejudicial bullying involving ethnic groups in school: the role of environmental aspects and psychological mechanisms

Globalization and worldwide waves of migration have led to an increase in ethnically mixed classrooms all over the world (IOM International Organization for Migration, 2022). However, the school context does not often constitute a place of inclusion and cooperation among students with ethnic background, but it can be a place of conflict and bullying. Nowadays, race, nationality, or skin color are the second most common reasons for bullying (UNESCO, 2019) and in the last years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the general incidence of discriminatory behaviors against people belonging to ethnic minorities has increased (Bhanot et al. 2021). Literature highlighted the long-term effects of being involved in this behavior (McKenney et al., 2006; Stone & Carlise, 2015) and how bullying at school could be alarming for the future society. Literature on bullying started more than 40 years ago (Olweus, 1973) but research on the role of race and ethnicity in school bullying is limited (Rivara & Menestrel, 2016). Therefore, the main aim of the present dissertation was to shed light on the role of structural and psychological mechanisms explaining bullying in schools among native and students with immigrant backgrounds. Specifically, the present dissertation is composed of three studies covering: 1) a systematic review of the association between school and classrooms’ ethnic diversity and bullying and victimization; 2) a study on the role of different operationalizations of ethnicity on ethnic bullying victimization; 3) a final study on the differential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on victimization and emotional symptoms focusing on Italians and students with immigrant background. In the first study (Chapter 1), we present a systematic review aimed to investigate the role of both classroom and school ethnic diversity, a structural aspect of interethnic relationships, in relation to bullying and victimization. Several moderators of this association have been analyzed: country, area of data collection, how ethnicity was operationalized and computed, and participants’ school level. The systematic review search was conducted in January 2021, following the PRISMA guidelines (Moher et al., 2009) across three databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and Eric databases). From the initial identification of 4496 articles, a final set of 20 papers have been selected. Almost half of the analyses did not find any significant association between bullying perpetration and ethnic diversity, while the other half found a positive one; few studies found a positive association between ethnic diversity and victimization. The operationalization of ethnicity and area of data collection play a role in both bullying perpetration and victimization. In North America, focusing on race, ethnic diversity has shown a protective role for victimization; in Europe, where the focus is on immigrant backgrounds, diversity may constitute a risk factor. About victimization, ethnic diversity represents a risk factor at younger ages and turns into a more protective factor in secondary schools. Following this line of research, the aim of the second study (Chapter 2) was to analyze the effects of both social/legal (i.e., the Italian citizenship status) and perceptual aspects (i.e., perception of diversity by others) on ethnic bullying victimization, investigating the impact of diversity both at the individual and classroom level during the first year of high school. Participants were 960 students (52% females; Mage=15.19; SD=.60) from 58 classrooms belonging to 13 schools. Multilevel analyses showed the effect of the social/legal aspects on ethnic victimization at both individual and classroom levels. Not having Italian citizenship seems to act as a risk factor for ethnic victimization over and above the perceptual differences. No effects of both types of diversity have been found on bullying at the individual level nor the classroom level. In the third study (Chapter 3), we examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents, through a three-waves longitudinal study. Specifically, the aim was to analyze trends over time in victimization and emotional symptoms (ES) looking for differences and similarities between natives and students from an immigrant background. Previous studies showed that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to contain the virus’ spread impacted adolescents’ social interactions and mental health (Nocentini et al., 2021). However, to date, in literature, it is still unclear how the developmental trajectories of people at higher risks of social exclusion and victimization changed over time during this challenging period. 826 students (46.4% females; Mage=15.22; SD=.63; 18.5% students with an immigrant background) attending the first year of high school, were followed from the pre-pandemic period (T1-January 2020) to 12 months (T2-February 2021) and 15-months (T3-May 2021) after the outbreak. Results from Latent Growth Curve Analysis (LGCA) showed a decrease in victimization and an increase in emotional symptoms over time in both groups (i.e., natives and students from immigrant backgrounds). Furthermore, in the Italian group, we found a greater growth in emotional symptoms in students who started from low levels of victimization before the pandemic. This highlighted the strong and pervasive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population. In the final chapter (Chapter 4), the main results of the three previous studies are discussed, their contributions to the literature are highlighted and related strengths and limitations are pointed out. Finally, implications for future studies and interventions are suggested and, policy and education practices are recommended.