Bullying and victimization among African American adolescents: a literature review

Abstract

Topic: Bullying among African American adolescents.

Purpose: This article reviews the current literature on bullying and victimization among African American adolescents. It highlights bullying and violence disparity among African American adolescents, associated risk and protective factors, and effects of bullying on adolescent health.

Sources used: Twenty-three English language peer-reviewed articles from CINAHL, Pubmed, and Psyc-INFO databases.

Conclusion: African American adolescents have higher rates of bullying and victimization compared to other adolescent populations. This review found strong associations among bullying involvement, substance abuse, and family factors. Bullying also had a significant impact on adolescent health, particularly psychological symptoms and school performance.

Keywords: African American; bullying; cyber-bullying; victimization.