3, 4 Research has recently focused on a specific form of bullying known as bias-based bullying, which is motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived membership in a minority, often stigmatized, group. This research provides some of the first empirical evidence that voter referenda that promote stigma confer risk for bias-based bullying among youth.īullying is a widespread form of peer aggression 1, 2 associated with numerous deleterious psychosocial and health outcomes among youth that can persist into adulthood. We documented accelerated rates of homophobic bullying in California during a voter referendum that restricted marriage to heterosexuals.
