Bullying among special education students with intellectual disabilities: differences in social adjustment and social skills.
Among special-ed students with ID, bullies stand out by hyper-activity and challenging behavior, not by weak social skills.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked 186 special-ed students with intellectual disability about bullying.
Kids filled out a survey that sorted them into roles: bully, victim, victim-bully, or not involved.
They also rated their own social skills, problem behaviors, and hyperactivity.
What they found
Bullies did not score lower on social skills than other kids.
Instead, bullies and victim-bullies showed more hitting, yelling, and hyper-activity.
Social skill lessons alone may miss the real target.
How this fits with other research
Emerson (2003) already showed that kids with ID have higher rates of conduct and hyper-activity problems; Shunit et al. now link those same problems to bully roles.
Schaaf et al. (2015) report that up to 22 % of youth with ID have anxiety; the new data say bullying roles are driven by behavior, not social skill, so anxiety may need separate screening.
Field et al. (2001) counted challenging behavior in adults with ID; Shunit confirms the pattern starts in school years.
Why it matters
If a student with ID is bullying, first assess for hyper-activity and conduct issues, not social skill gaps.
Add behavior-reduction plans and sensory breaks before teaching friendship skills.
Share this angle with teachers so they do not blame poor social training alone.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Harassment and bullying among 186 students with intellectual disabilities, ages 12 to 21 years, in special education schools were examined. The differences between bullies and victims in terms of social adjustment and social skills were investigated. No prototypes characterizing differences in social skills were found between the three subgroups: victim, bully, and victim-bully. However, bullies and victim-bullies exhibited significantly higher levels of challenging behaviors, such as temper tantrums, unruly and quarrelsome behavior, and a tendency to lie and steal. Significant correlations were also found among actions as a bully, violent behavior, and hyperactivity. Being a victim was correlated with emotional and interpersonal problems.
Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2007 · doi:10.1352/1934-9556(2007)45[174:BASESW]2.0.CO;2