Professors Vicki Bitsika and Chris Sharpley of the BBRG at UNE have been collaborating with Associate Professor David Heyne, of Leiden University, The Netherlands, on a sequence of studies about the effect of being bullied on the school attendance of autistic boys.
“We first became interested in the incidence and effects of bullying among autistic boys in 2014, and followed with the publication of our paper in the Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities”1, Prof Bitsika said. “In that study, we were interested in how autistic boys understood why they had been bullied, what their bullying experiences were like, and the effects bullying had on their daily functioning and mental health”.
More recently, the focus of this research has moved to the effects of bullying on the boys’ refusal to attend school.
“This is a different perspective on how bullying impinges upon the success of autistic boys”, said Prof Bitsika. “In the collaboration with David Heyne, from Leiden University, we have been able to describe the pathways from being bullied to not wanting to attend school, which has major negative effects on the academic and social success of these boys”, she added.
So far, the team has published a new paper2 on the association between bullying and ‘emerging school refusal (when the boys ask their parents if they can avoid attending school because of being bullied), and has also conducted studies about the association between bullying, school refusal and social anxiety, and also on the ‘buffering’ effects of Psychological Resilience on helping bullied autistic boys reduce their fear of attending school.
“Attending school is a basic right of all children” said Prof Bitsika. “Without that academic and social basis, it is unlikely that these boys will reach their true success levels in career or personal fields.”
Publications:
1Bitsika, V., & Sharpley, C.F. (2014). Understanding, experiences, and reactions to bullying experiences in boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 26, 747-761.
2Bitsika, V., Heyne, D.A. & Sharpley, C.F. Is Bullying Associated with Emerging School Refusal in Autistic Boys?. J Autism Dev Disord (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04610-4
