Characteristics of Bullies and Victims among Students with Emotional Disturbance Attending Approved Private Special Education Schools.

* Providing children and youth with safe schools and communities is a theme expressed around the world that crosses cultural barriers and economic borders. The adjective safe may have many contextual definitions but general Iy refers to the reduction of violence, crime, and interpersonal aggression. Bullying is one form of interpersonal aggression that is associated with physical and verbal violence. Bullying, the assertion of interpersonal power through aggression (Craig & Pepler, 2003), is a hostile, repeated action that causes psychological distress to victims (Olweus, 1991). In short, bullying is a display of interpersonal violence in which the bully asserts power through some form of aggression and the victim experiences distress and a loss of power, resulting in an unequal relationship.Using a developmental perspective for their studies of bullying among children in Canada, Craig and Pepler (2003) reported that bullies are at risk for a range of negative outcomes, including involvement in illegal activities, aggression, and abuse, whereas victims are at risk for a range of psychological and emotional difficulties, such as depression and anxiety. Through these prevalence studies, Craig and Pepler intended to identify early risk factors to aid in the development of targeted interventions for purposes of prevention.As awareness of the social problem of bullying among school children has grown, research about bullying has focused on students in the general public school population. Although some research about bullying has focused on students with disabilities, few studies have examined the patterns of bullying and victimization among students who are often characterized by risk factors identified with bullies and victims: students with emotional disturbance (ED). Recent studies (Kumpulainen, Rasanen, & Henttonen, 1999) also suggest that children with psychiatric diagnoses were frequently involved in bully/victim problems. These findings provide another layer of concern for students with ED: Are they the bullies, the victims, or both?This study attempts to examine the prevalence of bullying and victimization behaviors among a subpopulation of students with ED: those enrolled in approved private special educational settings. These are students who have been unsuccessful in the most restrictive levels of their public school environment. They are frequently those with the most severe and complex disorders, who require intensive, individualized interventions not available in their local public school district (National Association of Private Special Education Centers [NAPSEC], 2005). Because of the severity of their disability, this subpopulation of students with ED may, in fact, be at higher risk for negative outcomes related to bullying/victimization compared with other students with ED served in public school settings. Describing the prevalence and level of bully/victim incidents in this subpopulation is one step toward making schools secure and safe for all students, including the most vulnerable.Prevalence of Bullying Behaviors Among U.S. YouthNansel et al. (2001) attempted to estimate the prevalence of bullying behavior among U.S. youth by analyzing self-report responses froml 5,686 children in an ethnically and geographically stratified school-based sample of students in grades 6 through 10. Nansel et al. used data collected from the World Health Organization's (1997-1998) Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey (HBSC). Questions on the HBSC ask respondents to report the frequency with which they acted as bullies, were victimized by bullies, and experienced different types of bullying behaviors while in school as well as to self-report items related to psychosocial adjustment. Responses from the HBSC were weighted to adjust for minority oversampling and to obtain U.S. population grade estimates.Results from the HBSC indicated that nearly 45% of respondents reported bullying others at some level, 11% moderately (sometimes) and 9% frequently (weekly). …