Experiences of bullying and discrimination among adolescents in Bradford, England: evidence from the Born in Bradford Age of Wonder study

<ns3:p>Bullying and discrimination are disproportionately experienced by adolescents of minoritised race/ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, class, neurodiversity, or sexuality. These experiences are also associated with poor mental health and wellbeing. We described relevant quantitative and qualitative data in the 2023/24 round of ‘Born in Bradford: Age of Wonder’, an ongoing longitudinal study of secondary school pupils in Bradford. A total of 8466 pupils participated; of whom 52.4% were female; the median age was 13.9 (IQR 13.2-14.7); 40.0% were Pakistani; 35.4% were White British; 24.6% were of other ethnicities; and 61.2% lived in the most deprived quintile of neighbourhoods nationally. 29.3% of adolescents reported that they had been bullied at school within the past few months, and 14.2% reported online bullying. In-person bullying was more common in girls (32.1% in girls and 26.0% in boys), while prevalence of online bullying was similar (14.5% in girls in 13.9% in boys). Prevalence of being bullied in school or online was one-third lower in Pakistani adolescents than in White British adolescents (11.0% in Pakistani adolescents and 17.5% in White British adolescents). Discrimination was most reported by adolescents of ethnicities other than Pakistani or White British, with these experiences including derogatory comments, negative assumptions being made about participants’ ability, being discouraged from joining a club, being hassled by police, and being threatened. In qualitative data, participants reported discrimination involving physical and verbal actions associated with racial identity and disability status. Participants who reported they had been bullied attributed bullying perpetration to a desire to fit in with peer groups. Despite reporting bullying to schools, they often felt limited action was taken.</ns3:p>