Predictors of Peer Victimization and Bullying Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Literature focusing on peer victimization and bullying among youth with disabilities indicates youth with disabilities are victimized and bullied more frequently. Specifically, peer victimization and bullying have been found to be more prevalent among youth with behavioral, emotional or developmental concerns. Youth with ASD may be at greater risk for peer victimization for reasons including socio-communicative and behavioral difficulties, and the impact of these difficulties on peer interactions. Although research indicates that youth with ASD are vulnerable to peer victimization and bullying, little research has addressed predictors among adolescents with ASD. The identification of predictive factors for peer victimization and bullying could inform the development and enhancement or prevention and intervention programs. 

Methods:  The present meta-analysis includes 15 studies examining factors that predict peer victimization and bullying among children and adolescents with ASD. The focus of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the relative strength of effect sizes across individual predictors and contextual predictors.

Results: After doing a review of the existing literature, fifteen predictors were identified. Seven represented characteristics at the individual-level including characteristics of ASD, externalizing behaviors, internalizing behaviors, social skills, communication difficulties, executive functioning, and emotion regulation skills. The remaining eight predictors were contextual factors including parent mental health, parent engagement and confidence, socioeconomic status, peer status, friendships, school transportation, and education placement. Additionally, several moderators were examined to determine if they significantly accounted for differences found across the studies included in the meta-analysis. Three factors were considered: age of the sample, ASD diagnosis of the sample, and measurement of victimization and bullying. 

Conclusion: This research underscores the importance of understanding the impact of individual factors (e.g., social cognition, executive functioning, emotion regulation) and social contexts (e.g., peer, family, school) on peer victimization. The findings of this meta-analytic review have implications for future research on bullying and victimization prevention and intervention programming. Risk factors for peer victimization and bullying could be incorporated into school-based prevention programs. Potential refinement of these programs could be guided by project results. These results may also inform individual behavioral interventions that may complement school-based prevention programs.