Maternal ratings of bullying and victimization: Differences in frequencies between psychiatric diagnoses in a large sample of children

Little is known about psychiatric diagnoses that place children at risk for bullying and victimization. Mothers of 1,707 children 6–18 yr. rated their child as a bully and a victim (not at all, to very often a problem) on the Pediatric Behavior Scale. Children with psychiatric diagnoses were evaluated in an outpatient psychiatry clinic (M age = 9.2 yr., 68.4% male). Control children were community children not on psychotropic medication and with no neurodevelopmental disorder (M age = 8.7 yr., 43.5% male). Children with autism, intellectual disability, and ADHD-Combined type had higher victim and bully maternal ratings than children in the ADHD-Inattentive, depression, anxiety, eating disorder, and control groups. Eating disorder and controls were the only groups in which most children were not rated a victim or a bully. Comorbid oppositional defi ant disorder accounted for the higher bully ratings for ADHD-Combined, autism, and intellectual disability. Victimization ratings did not diff er between psychiatric groups. Except for eating disorders, victimization ratings were greater in all groups than in control children, suggesting that most psychiatric disorders place children at risk for victimization, as perceived by their mothers.