Bullying is a persistent yet overlooked problem facing Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth in California. In this report, we pinpoint, for the first time, AAPI groups at highest risk of bullying. Further, we identify which regions have the highest rates of anti-AAPI bullying. Finally, we examine ways to combat anti-AAPI bullying, focusing on what schools can do to improve their school climates and ways districts can strengthen their anti-bullying resources geared toward AAPI students and families. Our findings are based on statewide data from the California Healthy Kids Survey that includes over 300,000 AAPI youth in 9th and 11th grades who were surveyed between the 2015 and 2021 school years.

Longitudinal studies across the globe documented significant increases in psychological stress and mental health problems among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health concerns, school disruptions, and social disconnection were major sources of stress. High levels of perceived stress predicted worse mental health outcomes, with girls, older adolescents, and socio-economically marginalized youth experiencing more pronounced mental health deteriorations. However, social support from family and peers was a protective factor against increased stress and accompanying mental health problems. We urge policymakers and other key decision-makers to improve the availability and financing of mental health services and support programs for adolescents to address the wave of mental health challenges following the pandemic.

The concept of "social homeostasis", introduced by Matthews and Tye in 2019, has provided a framework with which to consider our changing individual needs for social interaction, and the neurobiology underlying this system. This model was conceived as including detector systems, a control center with a setpoint, and effectors which allow us to seek out or avoid additional social contact. In this article, we review and theorize about the many different factors that might contribute to the setpoint of a person or animal, including individual, social, cultural, and other environmental factors. We conclude with a consideration of the empirical challenges of this exciting new model.