Emerging Issues in Middle Schools

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Emerging Issues in Middle Schools

• Bullying, ADHD, and other stuff.

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What is bullying?

• A student is being bullied or victimized when he
  or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to
  negative actions on the part of one or more
  students
• aggression
• power imbalance
• repetitive

3
What is bullying?

• Occurs along a continuum, with students assuming
  roles including
• Bully
• Victim
• Bully/Victim

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Prevalence of Bullying

• About 30 of American students are either
  bullied, victims, or both.
• 13 had bullied others
• 11 had been bullied
• 6 had both bullied others and been bullied

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Why is bullying important?

• Depression
• Aggression
• Sexual Assault
• School Violence
• Video

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Victims of Bullying Experience

• loneliness
• greater school avoidance
• more suicidal ideation
• and less self-esteem than their non-bullied peers
• Depression
• These effects can last for years!

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LGBT Victims in Middle Schools

• LGBT adolescents first same sex contact is 16
  years old for girls and 14 years old for boy
• aware of their sexual orientation at an average
  age of 10 years old

8
Do you ever feel confused whether you are
lesbian, gay, or bisexual?

• Never confused, because I don't consider myself
  lesbian, gay or bisexual
• Always
• A lot of the time
• Sometimes
• Rarely
• Never confused, because I do consider myself
  lesbian, gay or bisexual

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Do you ever feel confused whether you are
lesbian, gay, or bisexual?

• Never, because Im straight - 75.2
• Always - 2.5
• A Lot of the time - .5
• Sometimes - 1.7
• Rarely - 4.3
• Never, because Im gay - 10.5

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LGBT Victims in Middle Schools

• LGBT five times as likely to not attend school
  because of feeling unsafe
• 40 indicated experiencing physical harassment
  because of their sexual orientation
• 64.3 report feeling unsafe at their school
  because of their sexual orientation
• 82 of a LGBT student sample reported
  name-calling with a majority of it being
  homophobic in nature
• 60 reported being assaulted
• LGBT report higher negative outcomes

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What happens to the bullies?

• Externalizing behaviors
• Conduct problems
• Delinquent
• Criminals
• 1 in 4 chance of having a criminal record by age
  30
• Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence

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And Bully/Victims?

• More externalizing behaviors
• More hyperactive
• Psychiatric referalls

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Developmental Perspective
2-3 Grade 4-5 Grade
Middle (N1526) (N2400)
(N1847)
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Who are the Victims?

• Boys - physical bullying victimization
• Girls - indirect victimization (e.g., social
  exclusion) .
• not fitting in
• obesity
• enrollment in remedial education
• developmental disabilities
• small size and physical weakness
• insecure, anxious, and quieter

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Who are the Bullies?
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Who are the Bullies?

• Social Rejected and/or Antisocial?
• Boys and Girls
• behavioral, emotional, or learning problems
• physically stronger
• parents
• authoritarian,
• fighting back
• use physical punishment
• lack warmth
• display indifference to their children
• less social support

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Espelage Holt (2001)
Victim Nominations
Number of Friends
-.30
Bully Nominations
.47
p lt .05, p lt .001
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Espelage Mebane (2003)
Victim Nominations
Popularity Nominations
-.36
Bully Nominations
.78
p lt .05, p lt .001
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Social-Ecological Perspective of Child Development

• Bronfenbrenners model
• Internal factors interact with the social
  environment

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School Climate

• emotional climate
• school policies
• attitudes and behaviors of teachers,
  administrators and the student body
• school structure
• perceptions of school climate

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Middle School Climate (N 6,344)
Bullying
-.30
Positive School Climate
Respect for Diversity
.41
p lt .001
Holt Keyes, in press
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Classroom Practices

• Schools and classrooms should have policies on
  bullying
• Increase monitoring of bullying hot spots
• Include parents in monitoring efforts
• Create an open-door policy for all students.
• Monitor hallways outside the classroom.
• Monitor student behavior in the classroom.
• Be aware of seating arrangements and student
  involvement in bullying.

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Classroom practices

• Most children are included in activities
• Teachers display warmth and responsiveness
• Teachers respond quickly and effectively to
  bullying incidents
• Administrators take bullying seriously

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ADHD

• Neurobehavioral disorder characterized by
  pervasive inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsi
  vity
• 4.4 million youth ages 4-17 have been diagnosed
  with ADHD by a healthcare professional
• 2.5 million youth ages 4-17 are currently
  receiving medication
• 2003 - 7.8 of school-aged children were reported
  to have an ADHD diagnosis

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Percent of Youth 4-17 ever diagnosed, 2003
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Percent of Youth 4-17 currently medicated
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Symptoms

• DSM-IV TR

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Differences By Gender

• Age group Gender Percent with ADHD
• 3-6 years Female 0.3
• Male 1.7
• 7-9 years Female 2.8
• Male 6.1
• 10-12 years Female 2.3 Male 8.2
• 13-15 years Female 1.7
• Male 6.3
• 16-18 years Female 0.8
• Male 3.0
• Total Female 1.6
• Male 4.9

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Differences by Race

• Hispanic-American and African-American children
  are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD by
  parent report than were white American children
• African-American youths with ADHD are less likely
  to initiate stimulant medication relative to
  white American children
• Teacher reports vs. Parent reports

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Examples

• PBS