Bullying: Los niños con trastornos del espectro autista, sufren traumas emocionales graves (investigación)

 

tgd

 

El 70% de los niños autistas sufren traumas emocionales como resultado del acoso, según un estudio publicado en Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. Muchos niños autistas temen por su seguridad en la escuela, y los autistas con trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad (TDAH) o depresión corren mayor riesgo de ser acosados.

Los investigadores encuestaron a padres de 1.221 niños con trastornos del espectro autista y hallaron que el 38% de los niños habían sido acosados en un periodo de un mes, y que el 28% eran acosados con frecuencia. Las consecuencias inmediatas del acoso incluían el trauma emocional (69%) y lesiones físicas (8%). El 18% de los niños autistas fueron provocados para defenderse peleando tras ser acosados, y el 40% tuvo un berrinche emocional que conllevó una acción disciplinaria en la escuela. El 9% de los niños autistas acosaban a otros niños, y el 5% acosaban a otros niños con frecuencia. Los niños autistas que también tenían un trastorno de la conducta o un trastorno oposicional desafiante eran más propensos a ser acosadores. Los niños autistas que también sufrían TDAH, trastorno de la conducta o trastorno oposicional desafiante eran más propensos a ser víctimas y acosadores al mismo tiempo.

The Association Between Bullying and the Psychological Functioning of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Zablotsky, Benjamin BA*; Bradshaw, Catherine P. PhD, MEd*; Anderson, Connie PhD; Law, Paul A. MD, MPH

Abstract de la revista Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics

ournals.lww.com/jrnldbp/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2013&issue=01000&article=00001&type=abstract

 

Objective: Bullying has become a major national concern, particularly as it affects children with disabilities. The current study aimed to determine the association between psychiatric comorbid conditions, involvement in bullying (victim, bully, or bully–victim), and the immediate psychological correlates of bullying among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Methods: A national sample of 1221 parents completed a survey dedicated to the bullying and school experiences of their child with ASD, reporting on the immediate consequences of bullying involvement, including their child’s psychological well-being and any psychiatric comorbidity. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to determine whether specific psychiatric comorbidities were associated with an increased risk of involvement as victim, bully, or bully–victim. Analyses of variance determined the relationship between bullying frequency and psychological functioning. All models adjusted for child and school covariates.

Results: Children who were frequently victimized were more likely to present with internalizing symptoms, whereas children who frequently bullied others were more likely to exhibit emotion regulation problems. Children who were identified as frequent bully–victims presented with both internalizing symptoms and emotion regulation problems. Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression were more likely to have been victimized, whereas children with conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) were more likely to have bullied other children. Children identified as bully–victims were more likely to have ADHD, CD, or ODD.

Conclusions: Children with ASDs who had displayed bullying behaviors in the past month exhibited psychological impairments, including psychiatric comorbidity. The frequency of bullying behaviors was significantly associated with the level of impairment.

Posts relacionados

Deja un comentario

Tu dirección de correo electrónico no será publicada. Los campos obligatorios están marcados con *