Bullying and Adolescent Girls with ADHD
The article I chose this week examined bullying and adolescent girls with ADHD. It sought to look at not only were these girls victims of bullying, but were they in fact more likely to bully others as well. Students with ADHD are known to have difficulty socially including, "peer rejection or neglect, poor friendship stability and aggression" (Sciberras, Ohan, & Anderson, 2012, p. 255). In particular this study chose to look at girls because some of the bullying behaviors are viewed differently if a boy engages in the behavior.
Two different types of bullying were examined in the study: overt bullying and relational bullying. Overt bullying is anything that can result in physical harm, whereas relational bullying seeks to cause problems friendships and other social interactions (Sciberras et al., 2012, p. 256). There were 22 adolescent girls with ADHD in the study as well as 20 adolescent girls without ADHD participating in the study. They completed questionnaires on bullying behavior that they participate in as well as are victims of. Parents and care-givers were also asked to fill out questionnaires on their child.
The study found that the girls with ADHD both participated in higher levels of overt bullying behavior and relational bullying behavior compared to the girls that do not have ADHD. The girls with ADHD were also more likely to be victims of both types of bullying. This study reinforces the idea the students with ADHD may experience social ramifications beginning early in childhood that continue through adolescents, and possibly into adulthood. It also may need to be further studied to determine if these bullying behaviors lead to internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression for this population (Sciberras et al., 2012, p. 267).
One problem with this study is that it only included families who were fluent in English. In some cases, as we have discussed in class, cultural differences may make certain behaviors more or less acceptable. I did find it useful to look at girls in particular since so much focus on ADHD seems to be on boys. I also found that this study ties into the bullying video we examined this week. It may be possible these girls with ADHD are bullying in an attempt to keep from becoming a target, or as a response to being a target. It may be, like the students in the video talked about, a way for them to take some power back.
Sciberras, E., Ohad, J., & Anderson, V. (2012). Bullying and peer victimization in adolescent girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43(2), 254-270.
Two different types of bullying were examined in the study: overt bullying and relational bullying. Overt bullying is anything that can result in physical harm, whereas relational bullying seeks to cause problems friendships and other social interactions (Sciberras et al., 2012, p. 256). There were 22 adolescent girls with ADHD in the study as well as 20 adolescent girls without ADHD participating in the study. They completed questionnaires on bullying behavior that they participate in as well as are victims of. Parents and care-givers were also asked to fill out questionnaires on their child.
The study found that the girls with ADHD both participated in higher levels of overt bullying behavior and relational bullying behavior compared to the girls that do not have ADHD. The girls with ADHD were also more likely to be victims of both types of bullying. This study reinforces the idea the students with ADHD may experience social ramifications beginning early in childhood that continue through adolescents, and possibly into adulthood. It also may need to be further studied to determine if these bullying behaviors lead to internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression for this population (Sciberras et al., 2012, p. 267).
One problem with this study is that it only included families who were fluent in English. In some cases, as we have discussed in class, cultural differences may make certain behaviors more or less acceptable. I did find it useful to look at girls in particular since so much focus on ADHD seems to be on boys. I also found that this study ties into the bullying video we examined this week. It may be possible these girls with ADHD are bullying in an attempt to keep from becoming a target, or as a response to being a target. It may be, like the students in the video talked about, a way for them to take some power back.
Sciberras, E., Ohad, J., & Anderson, V. (2012). Bullying and peer victimization in adolescent girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 43(2), 254-270.
This sounds like a great article. It is interesting to see the correlation with bullying and ADHD. I agree that this article ties nicely with the video we watched on bullying. I do believe that some girls might be putting up a tough facade in order to keep the real bullies away from them, which in turn actually makes them the bully.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting study! I agree that it is interesting that the article focused on girls--as girls are usually under-represented in the ADHD population; but probably more likely to be involved with relational bullying. I agree with your comments that some girls with ADHD might be the bully in order to avoid being the target--I also think that some may not truly understand and are just "going along with the crowd" and some are doing it to fit in to a social group even though they may not like it. Very interesting. Thanks for posting!
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