Abstract
The following study examined the effects of ethnic harassment and bully victimization on immigrant youths’ adjustment over the course of one year. Adjustment outcomes included depression, poor self-esteem, and self-harm. We asked: (1) Is bully victimization a risk for immigrant youths’ adjustment? and (2) Is ethnic harassment a risk for immigrant youths’ adjustment over and beyond bully victimization? Participants included 252 first and second-generation immigrant youths (52% female, 46% born abroad, M= 14.98 years) from seven schools in a mid-sized Swedish city. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test whether bully victimization and ethnic harassment predicted adjustment outcomes one year later and changes in these outcomes over the course of one year. A factor analysis revealed that bully victimization and ethnic harassment were separate constructs. Bully victimization predicted depression and poor self-esteem scores as well as increases in depression over the course of one year. Ethnic harassment predicted depression, poor self-esteem, and self-harm scores as well as increases in these three outcomes over the course of one year. Results suggest that ethnic harassment poses an added risk to the adjustment of immigrant youth over and above bully victimization. Findings underline the importance of assessing ethnic harassment when conducting research in ethnically diverse settings.