National trends in school victimization among Asian American adolescents

The “model minority” perception of Asian American students often ignores the academic and social challenges that many face in schools. One area that has received less attention is the school victimization experiences of Asian American adolescents. While some qualitative researchers have explored factors contributing to school victimization in recent years, missing in the literature is the scope of these incidents among Asian Americans. This paper contributes to this literature by (1) examining national trends in the victimization of Asian American adolescents in schools over the last decade and (2) investigating how victimization varies according to their gender, socioeconomic status, and achievement levels. The results show that although Asian American adolescents are consistently less likely to be bullied relative to other students, they are more likely to report experiences of racial discrimination. Victimization incidents for Asian Americans also differ by gender and academic achievement levels.