Bullying and discrimination experiences among Korean-American adolescents

The bullying experiences of Korean-American adolescents (N = 295) were explored in relation to discrimination and mental health outcomes. Bullying experiences were assessed by the Bully Survey ( Swearer, 2005), discrimination by the Perceived Ethnic and Racial Discrimination Scale ( Way, 1997) and depression by the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D). Those who reported being bullied (31.5%) as well as those who reported both being bullied and bullying others (15.9%) experienced a higher level of depression, which was elevated beyond the clinically significant level of CES-D. The results of a LISREL model suggest that the experiences of bullying among Korean/Asian-American adolescents and their related mental health issues need to be addressed in a comprehensive context of their discrimination experiences, acculturation, family and school environments.