The roles of ethnicity and school context in predicting children's victimization by peers

This study examines the prevalence, stability, and contextual correlates of peer victimization in a sample of African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hisp anic White urban elementary school-age children. A total of 1956 children ( 40% African-American, 42% Hispanic, and 18% White) attending any 1 of 14 pu blic elementary schools located in one large and one mid-sized Midwestern c ity participated in this study. Peer ratings of victimization were obtained at two points in time, separated by a 2-year period. Findings revealed tha t risk for being victimized by peers varied by ethnicity and by school cont ext. Hispanic children had lower victimization scores than did either Afric an-American or White children. These findings, however were moderated by sc hool context, such that attending ethnically integrated schools was associa ted with a significantly higher risk of victimization for White children an d a slightly lower risk of victimization for African-American children and did not affect the risk of victimization for Hispanic children. In addition , African-American children were less likely than Hispanic and White childr en to be repeatedly victimized by peers over time. The importance of consid ering ethnicity and context in explaining peer victimization is discussed a nd suggestions for preventive interventions and future research are provide d.