Resurrecting a Trope: Asian-American Students, Bullying and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Abstract: This paper will be seeking to answer the following question: What impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the relationship between Asian students and bullying? This research uses a theoretical framework based on Asian Critical Race Theory and intersectionality and uses a quantitative logistic regression-based analysis to understand how variables pertaining to Violent Behavior, Mental Health and Key Demographic factors impact the chances of an Asian student experiencing Bullying, considering the unique social context that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine created. This research took place as part of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) one-time, online adolescent behaviors and experiences survey (ABES) on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on a variety of social behaviors among members of the high school student population. The result’s reveal pronounced variation within this population in relation to their chances of experiencing bullying, with queer identity, fighting, and Mental Health playing differential roles depending on the respondent’s gender identity. The study concludes that these inter-and intragroup differences in the results between differently gendered Asian individuals justify further intersectional research on the issues of bullying and peer to peer violence in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic moving forward.