Bias-Based Bullying and Child and Adolescent Health
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "School Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 50
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bullying and cyberbullying; vulnerable youth; cisheteronormativity; gender-related violence; queer sexual education; lesbian; gay; bisexual and transgender studies
Interests: social education; vulnerable youth; child residential centers; child welfare; social inclusion; transition to adulthood from foster care; bullying; disadvantaged schools; educational opportunities
Interests: bullying and cyberbullying; adolescence; cisheteronormativity; gender-related violence; queer pedagogy; ageism; intersectionality
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Bullying is not just a problem limited to schools; it is a serious public health issue that affects at least 246 million children and adolescents from across the world. The United Nations (2017) [1] underlines that students who experience bullying experience more difficulties in their interpersonal relationships and are more likely to suffer from depression, loneliness, anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. Bias-based bullying, also called identity-based bullying or stigma-based bullying, refers to bullying based on a person's actual and/or perceived identity dimensions, including gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, religion, social class, disability status, or the intersection of two or more of these categories.
Studies indicate that the prevalence of bullying motivated by prejudice and stigma is high, emerging as an important concern in schools worldwide [2]. Research highlights that suffering from these negative experiences can have detrimental effects on the psychological functioning, academic performance, and behavioral adjustment of children and adolescents [3], potentially inducing depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, distress, and generally low health-related quality of life [4,5]. This Special Issue aims to explore the impact of bias-based bullying on children, adolescents, and young people, along with the risk and protective factors involved and educational programs and prevention and intervention strategies that can be implemented. We welcome empirical studies with quantitative or qualitative approaches, intervention studies, high-quality systematic reviews, and meta-analytic papers that address these issues.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
References
[1] United Nations. (2017). School violence and bullying global status report. https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/school-violence-and-bullying-globalstatus-report
[2] United Nations. (2019). Behind the numbers: Ending school violence and bullying. https://en.unesco.org/news/school-violence-and-bullying-major-global-issue-new-unesco-publication-finds
[3] Özdemir, S.B.; Caravita, S.C.; Thornberg, R. Bias-based harassment and bullying: addressing mechanisms and outcomes for possible interventions. Eur. J. Dev. Psychol. 2024, 21, 505–519. http://doi.org/10.1080/17405629.2024.2376047
[4] Hurtado-Mellado, A.; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A.J. Homophobic Bullying, Traditional Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in Adolescents According to Their Sexual Orientation. Behav. Sci. 2024, 14, 729. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080729
[5] Rinehart, S. J.; Espelage, D. L. School level predictors of homophobic namecalling & sexual harassment victimization/perpetration among middle school youth. Psychol. Violence 2016, 6, 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039095
Dr. Maria Victoria Carrera-Fernández
Dr. Jesús Deibe Fernández-Simo
Dr. Nazaret Blanco-Pardo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- bias-based bullying
- prejudice
- ableism
- ethnocentrism
- classism
- cisheteronormatity
- child and adolescent health
- health-related quality of life
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