Bullying in Youth With Muscular Dystrophy and Congenital Myopathies

November 4, 2022 updated by: Laura McAdam, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Assessing the Frequency and Experience of Bullying or Peer Victimization in Children With Muscular Dystrophy and Congenital Myopathies

Bullying is an epidemic in Canada, and rates may be underreported. Youth with a disability were more likely to be bullied that those without disabilities, specifically if the disability was visible. Research has been conducted on the prevalence and effects of bullying in youth with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, obesity, and chronic pain; however, there is a paucity of research involving youth with muscular dystrophy and congenital myopathies. The objectives of this study are to: (1) measure bullying frequency, (2) describe the types of bullying experiences; and (3) explore barriers and facilitators to dealing with bullying by youth with muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathies and their parents. The objectives will be met by an online survey and qualitative interviews of youth with muscular dystrophy and congenital myopathy and their parents.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Bullying is an epidemic in Canada. At least one in three Canadian youth report having been bullied. Bullying is defined as intentional aggressive behaviour with the intention to harm the victim. It is characterized by an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and the victim, and is often repetitive although it does not need to be. Studies have shown that youth with chronic illness or disability were more likely to be bullied that those without disabilities, specifically if the disability was visible. Research has been conducted on the prevalence and effects of bullying in youth with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, obesity, and chronic pain; however, there is a paucity of research involving youth with muscular dystrophy and congenital myopathies. The objectives of this study are to: (1) measure bullying frequency, (2) describe the types of bullying experiences; and (3) explore barriers and facilitators to dealing with bullying by youth and their parents. The objectives will be met using a cross-sectional, multi-centre, mixed methods approach. A survey will be administered online at a single time-point to youth and their parents. Then, purposefully selected participants and their parents will complete a qualitative interview.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

29

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Ontario
      • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1
        • Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario
      • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4G 1R8
        • Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

10 years to 19 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

N/A

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Youth with a muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathy diagnosis from the neuromuscular clinics at the study sites (Holland Bloorview and CHEO) will be invited to participate in the study. The youth's parents will also be invited to participate with their child.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathy diagnosis
  • 10-19 years old
  • Speaks and reads English or French

Exclusion Criteria:

  • N/A

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Demographics Form
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
This form was purposefully developed by the research team to capture characteristics such as age, gender, family demographics, schooling and academic success, muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathy diagnosis, comorbidities, physical function and mobility levels, and technology use. There is a participant version and a parent/guardian version.
Through study completion, 1 year
Bullying and Cyberbullying: Perpetrators, Victims and Witnesses Survey (B&C:PVWS)
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
An amended version of the B&C:PVWS, developed by Mishna et al., to identify bullying and cyberbullying experiences of victims and perpetrators. The survey examines types of bullying experiences (e.g., physical, verbal, social, sexual), the context in which bullying occurs (e.g., race, sexual orientation, disability), and the participant's response to bullying and cyberbullying (e.g., sadness, actions taken, etc.). Perspectives on bullying and cyberbullying, as well as thoughts on potential interventions are sought. Questions measuring experiences of bully victimization and perpetration had good internal consistency with Cronbach alphas of .77 and .71, respectively.
Through study completion, 1 year
Bullying Perspectives
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
A single question from The Bully Survey by Swearer et al. will be used to capture the youth participant's perspectives on bullying. They will be asked, "How much do you agree with each sentence?" on a 5-point scale (Totally false, somewhat false, both true and false, somewhat true, totally true).
Through study completion, 1 year
PedsQL(TM) 3.0 Neuromuscular Module
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
The PedsQL(TM) 3.0 Neuromuscular Module assesses quality of life on three scales: 1) About my neuromuscular disease (17 items), 2) Communication (3 items), and 3) About our family resources (5 items). Participants are asked to indicate how much of a problem each of the statements has been for them on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Never through 5 = Almost Always). Raw item scores are scaled linearly for a total score out of 100. As well, scale scores can be computed as an average of the total scale score. A higher score indicates better health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Two versions will be used in this study: Child Report (8-12 years old) and Teenager Report (13-18 years old), along with parent reports for each of these versions. All versions being used can be found in Appendix R. The child self-report has exemplary reliability (α = .85).
Through study completion, 1 year
KIDSCREEN-10 Index
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
The KIDSCREEN-10 Index is a 10-item questionnaire developed to assess the HRQoL of children and young people 8-18 years old. Items in the questionnaire ask participants their thoughts on their health over the past week on a 5-point scale (Excellent, very good, good, fair, poor). Rasch analysis of raw scores provides a global unidimensional latent HRQoL score. Higher scores indicate better HRQoL. The KIDSCREEN-10 Index is reported to have good internal consistency (α = .82), and good test-retest reliability and stability (r = .73, ICC = .72).
Through study completion, 1 year
EPOCH Measure of Adolescent Well-being (EPOCH)
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
The EPOCH assesses five positive psychological characteristics (i.e., engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness and happiness) that may facilitate the well-being, physical health and other positive outcomes in adulthood. Participants are instructed to indicate how much a statement describes them on a 5-point scale (Almost never, sometimes, often, very often, almost always). There are four items for each of the five domains. The EPOCH has exemplary overall reliability (α = .92).
Through study completion, 1 year
Qualitative Interview
Time Frame: Through study completion, 1 year
Participants will be purposefully selected to complete a semi-structured qualitative interview based on their survey results. Criteria for qualitative interview selection will be based on diversity of gender, school level, muscular dystrophy or congenital myopathy diagnosis, mobility, bullying and cyberbullying victimization, etc. Participants will be asked to describe specific bullying experiences, motivations, perspectives, and getting help.
Through study completion, 1 year

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Collaborators

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 22, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 22, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 31, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

February 2, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 7, 2022

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 4, 2022

Last Verified

November 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • McAdam_Bullying

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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