Understanding and Combating School‐Based Bullying From an Individual‐Level Perspective: A Review

Bullying is an ongoing problem in our schools with a significant psychological impact on young people. Despite evidence that school‐based bullying is related to a range of individual, social and environmental factors, the majority of interventions are focused on a “whole of school” approach. Whole‐school interventions have been shown to be successful in reducing rates of bullying, but it is argued that a focus on individual factors, specifically those that are amenable to change, will add to these “whole of school” effects. It is argued that interventions that target factors such as internalising symptoms, externalising behaviours, friendship quality and self‐esteem will help children to build resilience against the bullying behaviours of their peers, and further reduce the incidence of bullying, when applied both at a preventative and treatment intervention level.     

The problem of school bullies: what the research tells us

This article includes an overview of the history of research on school bullying, its nature and prevalence, characteristics of bullies and victims, and teachers' knowledge of and attitudes toward bullying. Also, two model interventions designed to reduce this harmful behavior are examined.     

A review of research on bullying and peer victimization in school: An ecological system analysis

Bullying and peer victimization in school are serious concerns for students, parents, teachers, and school officials in the U.S. and around the world. This article reviews risk factors associated with bullying and peer victimization in school within the context of Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework. This review integrates empirical findings on the risk factors associated with bullying and peer victimization within the context of micro- (parent–youth relationships, inter-parental violence, relations with peers, school connectedness, and school environment), meso- (teacher involvement), exo- (exposure to media violence, neighborhood environment), macro- (cultural norms and beliefs, religious affiliation), and chronosystem (changes in family structure) levels. Theories that explain the relationships between the risk factors and bullying behavior are also included. We then discuss the efficacy of the current bullying prevention and intervention programs, which is followed by directions for future research.     

Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of motivational interviewing for bullying perpetration in school settings

Bullying is a perplexing and persistent problem with negative consequences for all involved. Schools are assigned considerable responsibility for the management of bullying because of its prevalence amongst youth. Despite considerable efforts over decades to curtail bullying through the use of anti-bullying policies and other school-based interventions, the rates of young people who frequently bully has not decreased significantly. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a relational and affirming conversational method that strengthens an individual's motivation and commitment to change, overcoming ambivalence toward the problem. The aim of the current study was to provide preliminary insight into the feasibility of incorporating MI into student service repertoires for addressing bullying. Ten staff participants from six secondary schools, who had roles in bullying intervention within their respective schools, were offered training in MI and invited to use and monitor this method in their practice as an intervention for students who perpetrate bullying. Results indicated a number factors which influenced the uptake of MI in schools. Facilitators enabling the use of MI included practitioner's professional background, administrative support, training and implementation of MI. Barriers to the use of MI included time pressure and administrative expectations, school roles and system limitations, and preconceptions and the stigma of bullying.     

Translating knowledge into interventions: An ‘individual by context’ approach to bullying

Bullying affects a considerable number of children and adolescents, with serious consequences for school performance, health and emotional well-being. To understand bullying a promising approach is the individual by context approach, which implies that social contexts can either attenuate or exacerbate the effect of individual characteristics on bullying behaviour. Within this interactional framework, the paper reviews studies which lie at the intersection between two research areas, bullying knowledge and anti-bullying interventions research. Specifically, studies that show how the relation between individual vulnerability and bullying is moderated by class norms, peer behaviours and teacher interventions will be discussed. Following these results, translation implications will be analysed focusing on: 1) studies evaluating interventions which aim to change peer behaviours and class norms; 2) studies investigating the circumstances under which an intervention may work or not; and 3) studies focusing on the effectiveness of an intervention in relation to the different target population.     

Bullying and Victimization: Cause for Concern for both Families and Schools

This study examines the roles of family variables (authoritarian and authoritative parenting, family disharmony) and school variables (liking school, perceived control of bullying and school hassles) in discriminating non-bully/non-victims, victims and bullies. Participants were parents and their children aged 9–12 years (N = 610). Data were analyzed using ANOVA and discriminant function analysis (DFA). Two significant functions emerged, both of which appeared important in discriminating children according to their bullying status. Together they allowed for the correct classification of 76% of the non-bully/non-victims, 57% of victims, and 61% of bullies. The main conclusion is that family and school systems working together may provide the most effective means of intervention for bullying problems. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Emotional display rules and emotion self‐regulation: Associations with bullying and victimization in community‐based after school programs

We explored linkages among different components of emotional competence and bullying and victimization in children enrolled in community after school programs. Seventy‐seven children were recruited from after school programs and their display rule knowledge for sadness and anger was evaluated. Their emotion self‐regulation skills and bullying experiences were also assessed. Knowledge of display rules for sadness was a negative predictor of physical victimization whereas emotional lability/negativity was positively related to bullying. Boys bullied more than girls and family income was negatively related to bullying and emotional lability/negativity and positively associated with emotion self‐regulation. Emotion self‐regulation mediated the relation between family income and bullying. Analyses also suggested that bullies and bully‐victims had poorer emotion self‐regulation skills than non‐bullies/victims or victims. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effectiveness of school-based bullying prevention programs: A systematic review

Bullying is a social phenomenon. About 30% of school children are involved in bullying as victims, bullies, or bully/victims. The victims of bullying suffer multiple negative consequences, including poor social and academic adjustment, depression, and anxiety. This paper extends Farrington and Ttofi's (2009) meta-analysis of controlled trials of 44 bullying interventions, which suggests that bullying programs are effective in decreasing bullying and victimization. We review controlled trials of bullying interventions published from June, 2009 through April, 2013, focusing on substantive results across 32 studies that examined 24 bullying interventions. Of the 32 articles, 17 assess both bullying and victimization, 10 assess victimization only, and 5 assess bullying only. Of the 22 studies examining bullying perpetration, 11 (50%) observed significant effects; of the 27 studies examining bullying victimization, 18 (67%) reported significant effects. Although the overall findings are mixed, the data suggest that interventions implemented outside of the United States with homogeneous samples are more successful than programs implemented in the United States, where samples tend to be more heterogeneous. Few studies have measured bullying with sufficient precision to have construct validity. Finding strong measures to assess the complex construct of bullying remains a major challenge for the field.     

Like Father,like Child: Early Life Family Adversity and Children’s Bullying Behaviors in Elementary School

Family adversity has been associated with children’s bullying behaviors. The evidence is, however, dominated by mothers’ perceptions of the family environment and a focus on mothers’ behaviors. This prospective population-based study examined whether children’s bullying behaviors were associated with mother- and father-reported family adversity, assessed before and after child birth. Peer-nominations were used to assess bullying behaviors of 1298 children in elementary school (mean age 7.5 years). The following paternal risk factors were prospectively associated with children’s bullying behaviors: (1) father-reported prenatal family distress, (2) fathers’ hostility at preschool age, and (3) fathers’ harsh disciplinary practices at preschool age, but effect sizes were relatively small. The effect of maternal risk factors was less consistent, only mother-reported family distress in childhood was associated with children’s bullying behaviors. The associations were independent of background family risk factors (i.e., life stress, contextual factors, and other background factors such as parental education and risk taking record) and early childhood externalizing problems. Moreover, our results indicated that father-reported family adversity predicted children’s bullying behaviors over and above the background family risk factors, early childhood externalizing problems and mother-reported family adversity. We also demonstrated that the association of fathers’ prenatal hostility and family distress with subsequent bullying behavior of their child at school was partly mediated by fathers’ harsh disciplinary practices at preschool age. Our findings highlight the importance of fathers’ behaviors in the development of children’s bullying behaviors.     

Adolescent mental health in Japan and Russia: The role of body image,bullying victimisation and school environment

This study examined associations between self-reported mental health problems, body image, bullying victimisation and school safety in large adolescent samples in Japan and Russia, considering the effects of gender, culture and their interactions. In both Japan and Russia, girls reported a greater number of mental health problems, less bullying victimisation and much higher body dissatisfaction than boys did. Japanese adolescents rated themselves higher on total difficulties, reported less body dissatisfaction and bullying victimisation, and rated their school safety lower than that of Russian youths. Cross-cultural differences in total difficulties and body image were qualified by gender. Body dissatisfaction, bullying victimisation and school safety all independently contributed to adolescent mental health problems. The protective effect of school safety on total difficulties was larger for girls than for boys; the strength of the association between bullying victimisation and adolescent mental health problems differed across genders and cultures. The findings indicate a need for a cross-cultural approach and provide a strong basis for targeted interventions that seek to improve adolescent mental health.     

At what age are children most likely to be bullied at school?

Cross‐sectional questionnaire surveys of school bullying reliably find that the frequency of incidents falls with age. However, it is not clear how much of this decline is due to a real change in behaviour, and how much to children’s changing definitions of what bullying is. This paper presents the results of two retrospective studies in an attempt to assess at what ages bullying is really most likely to occur. Male and female adults aged 18–55 years (n¹ = 205 and n² = 200) completed questionnaires about their memories of being bullied at school. Results showed that bullying was most frequently remembered from around 11–13 years of age, with incidents from earlier and later childhood being reported comparatively rarely. There were no differences between the reports of younger (18–21 years) and older (22–55 years) participants or between those of males and females. Bullying memories were also compared with memories for other aspects of childhood to assess the accuracy of these memories. It is concluded that the most memorable (and therefore perhaps the most severe) bullying is that which occurs in middle childhood. Aggr. Behav. 27:419–429, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Birds of a feather bully together: Group processes and children's responses to bullying

Recent research has shown that a group‐level analysis can inform our understanding of school bullying. The present research drew on social identity theory and intergroup emotion theory. Nine‐ to eleven‐year olds were randomly assigned to the same group as story characters who were described as engaging in bullying, as being bullied, or as neither engaging in bullying nor being bullied. Participants read a story in which a bully, supported by his or her group, was described as acting unkindly towards a child in a different group. Gender of protagonists and the bully's group norm (to be kind or unkind to other children) were varied. Identification affected responses to the bullying incident, such that those who identified more highly with each group favoured this group. Moreover, children's group membership predicted the group‐based emotions they reported, together with the associated action tendencies. Implications for understanding the processes underlying bullying behaviour are discussed.     

Adolescents’ Involvement in Cyber Bullying and Perceptions of School: The Importance of Perceived Peer Acceptance for Female Adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M _age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women’s perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying.     

Effectiveness evaluation of the Positive Family Support intervention: A three-tiered public health delivery model for middle schools

This article presents the results of an evaluation of Positive Family Support, an ecological family intervention and treatment approach to parent supports and family management training developed from a history of basic and translational research. This effectiveness trial, with 41 public middle schools randomly assigned to intervention or control, examined student-, teacher-, and parent-reported outcomes, as well as math and reading scores and school attendance. Multilevel analyses suggested that for students at risk for behavior problems, immediate-intervention schools outperformed control schools on parent-reported negative school contacts for students at risk for behavior problems. Implementation, however, was hampered by several challenges, including school funding cuts, lack of staff time to provide parenting supports, and staff turnover. Given that preventive interventions are generally cost effective, it is critical that researchers continue their efforts to refine these interventions and find ways to support schools' implementation of evidence-based programs that can reduce problem behavior. This article is part of a special issue “Parental Engagement in School-Based Interventions”.     

Differential effects of the KiVa anti-bullying program on popular and unpopular bullies

This study utilized data from the evaluation of the Finnish KiVa program in testing the prediction that school bullies' high perceived popularity would impede the success of anti-bullying interventions. Multiple-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted on a subsample of 911 third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders identified as perpetrators of bullying. They belonged to 77 Finnish schools, including 39 schools implementing the KiVa program and 38 control schools. Data on peer-reported bullying and perceived popularity were collected before program implementation and one year later. Controlling for sex, age, and initial levels of bullying, KiVa participation resulted in lower rates of bullying (indicated by fewer peer nominations) after one year for bullies of low and medium popularity. However, there was no significant effect for those high in popularity, suggesting that popular bullies are less responsive to anti-bullying interventions than less popular bullies.     

家庭功能与初中生欺负行为:有调节的中介作用

为了探讨家庭功能、父母教养方式与初中生欺负行为之间的关系及其作用机制,研究采用家庭功能量表、父母教养方式量表和欺负量表对429名初中生进行施测。结果显示：（1）家庭功能与父母教养方式中的父母拒绝均能显著预测欺负行为;（2）父母拒绝在家庭功能与欺负行为之间起中介作用;（3）“家庭功能→父母拒绝→欺负行为”这一中介效应的后半路径受到性别的调节,即该中介效应仅在男生群体中显著。     

Bullying: Definition,Types, Causes,Consequences and Intervention

Bullying is repetitive aggressive behaviour with an imbalance of power. Research, especially on school bullying, has increased massively in the last decade, fuelled in part by the rise of cyberbullying. Prevalence rates vary greatly. This is in part because of measurement issues, but some persons, and groups, are more at risk of involvement. Victims suffer from bullying, but some of those who perpetrate bullying can be socially skilled and get at least short‐term benefits from their behaviour. Individual, family, school class, school and broader country factors can influence the chances of involvement. Beyond individual coping strategies, there have been many anti‐bullying interventions developed over the last 30 years. Meta‐analyses of these programmes show that they have had some success. Further progress is needed in establishing the most effective components and in tackling cyberbullying.     

应对校园欺凌:社会情绪能力的干预研究

校园欺凌现象在全球范围普遍存在,为有效解决校园欺凌问题,研究一采用《特拉华校园受欺凌量表》、《简易应对方式量表》以及《社会情绪健康量表》对416名5～6年级小学生进行了调查,结果发现,小学生消极应对方式可以显著预测校园受欺凌,社会情绪能力在消极应对方式与校园受欺凌中起调节作用。此基础上,研究二开展基于社会情绪能力的校园受欺凌团体辅导干预研究。结果表明,社会情绪能力的提升可以显著降低校园受欺凌水平。     

The Nature of School Bullying and the Effectiveness of School-Based Interventions

School bullying has become a topic of public concern and considerable research in various countries around the world in the last two decades. We summarise characteristics such as types and causes of school bullying, based on findings from various studies. We further review a variety of large-scale, school-based intervention programmes, implemented in different countries and school settings, that have been systematically evaluated. These programmes have varied substantially in their effectiveness in reducing levels of bullying at schools. Reasons for these mixed outcomes are discussed, together with suggestions for improving the effectiveness of future interventions.