Health Disparities
Parents’ education modifies the association between neurodevelopmental disability and bullying victimization in children aged 12-17 in the United States. Adaeze Anamege* Adaeze Anamege Juan Perez-Carreno Delano Brooks
Introduction: The prevalence of bullying among adolescents in the United States is disproportionately high. While recent studies have explored the effects of neurodevelopmental disabilities on bullying prevalence, research on whether external factors such as parents’ education influence the association between their children having a neurodevelopmental disability and experiencing bullying is sparse.
Methods: We characterized a representative sample of adolescents experiencing bullying using the 2021 National Health Interview Survey. We further determined whether parents’ education modifies the effect of attention-deficit disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, learning disability, and autism on bullying victimization. Bivariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to quantify the associations, controlling by age, sex, race, and health status. Predicted probabilities were calculated based on logistic regression models. All analyses were conducted in SAS version 9.4 and STATA-SE 17.
Results: Among 3,207 adolescents aged 12-17 years the prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities and bullying was 19.9% (95% CI: 18.3%-21.4%) and 22.4% (95% CI: 20.6%-24.2%), respectively. Neurodevelopmental disabilities were associated with decreased odds of experiencing bullying (aOR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.32–0.53). Conversely, having parents with a high school education or less was associated with higher odds of being bullied (aOR= 1.87, 95% CI: 1.32-2.64). There was a significant interaction between parents’ education and neurodevelopmental disabilities on the probability of experiencing bullying (interaction p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Future studies should explore the integration of anti-bullying educational programs within public health interventions targeted at parents with lower educational attainment. These programs should focus on increasing bullying awareness and developing strategies to foster adolescent social well-being.