Bullying Victimization and Disability Status Are Associated with Television Watching in Adolescence

Television time has been on the rise for American youth, and health professionals have raised concerns about the negative physical and mental health outcomes associated with extended television time. A clearer understanding of how television watching is related to bullying and disability status is needed.

The present study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, a nationally representative and longitudinal study of American school-aged children from 1998–2006. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to predict television watching of eighth grade students from bullying victimization and disability status. The final analytic sample was 6529 students.

Bullying victimization (B = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.14–0.84) significantly predicted daily television time, after controlling for demographic covariates. This relationship was moderated by disability, in which youth with a disability who were bullied at school watched significantly more television than youth without a disability who were not bullied (B = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.21–2.34). Students reporting lower reading test scores watched more television, as did males and African Americans.

Television watching is significantly higher among students with disabilities who experience bullying. Further research should explore the mechanism by which television watching, bullying victimization, and disability status are related.