How to stop bullying in school: An evidence-based guide

© 2008-2019 Gwen Dewar, all rights reserved

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Bullying in school is costly to everyone.

Victims are traumatized. Bullies may become opens in a new windowmore anti-social over fourth dimension. And bystanders are affected too.

Living in a customs that tolerates bullying is stressful, and it might brand it harder for kids to learn.

Researchers have found that kids earn higher grades when they nourish schools characterized by a friendly, cooperative atmosphere — a school climate where students "help each other, even if they are non friends" (Wang et al 2014).

By contrast, kids who perceive a climate of bullying experience less engaged at school (Mehta et al 2013), and their academic performance may suffer (Twemlow et al 2001).

So how can we stop bullying in school?

Consider this story.

Canadian researchers wired up primary school children with wireless microphones and videotaped them as they played in the school yard. The researchers collected 125 hours of observations birthday (Hawkins, Pepler and Craig, 2001).

These observations included 306 episodes of bullying—defined equally acts of aggression in which the aggressor was more powerful than the victim. And here's where it gets interesting.

• Most bullying episodes—88%–happened in front of peer witnesses.

• Peers intervened in only xix% of these episodes.

• When peersdid intervene—speaking up or physically defending the victims—the bullies tended to end: 57% of the interventions clearly stopped the slap-up within 10 seconds.

The lesson?

It seems that simply taking a stand up may be enough to stop a cracking in his tracks.

Simply the Canadian written report focused merely on bullying incidents in progress. Tin we prevent these incidents from happening in the showtime place?

Looking over the research, it'due south seems possible. But it's not a simple problem to set up. Here is an overview of the experimental research—what studies say about how to stop bullying in schoolhouse.

Nipping it in the bud: A schoolhouse-wide arroyo

The Canadian report suggests that bullies like to play to an audience. In fact, this may be fundamental to their motivation. Bystanders encourage bullying when they observe without protestation (Twemlow et al 2004).

And kids aren't the only bystanders who witness bullying in school. When teachers, parents, and other adults stand past without intervening, they are passively supporting the bullies.

Such observations inspired Stuart Twemlow and his fellow researchers to develop a school-based anti-bullying program designed to change the fashion both bullies and bystanders behave (Twemlow et al 1999).

Called CAPSLE, ("Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment"), the program helps kids become "gentle warriors," people who are mettlesome, friendly, helpful, respectful, and show self-control. The plan incorporates these elements:

1. Creating a positive climate in the classroom, and instruction zero tolerancebothfor bullyingandfor standing past during violent acts.

This is accomplished through many "consciousness-raising" tactics, similar giving school-wide recognition to kids who act "heroically" (eastward.k., by intervening on behalf of a victim), and displaying a "peace banner" exterior each classroom. In add-on, parents are offered workshops for using positive bailiwick.

2. Training teachers in classroom management and the use of positive discipline.

Teachers are taught concrete tactics of positive discipline, which you lot can read most in this opens in a new windowevidence-based guide to positive parenting. The emphasis is on reinforcing desirable beliefs, rather than punishing confusing behavior. When teachers observe aggressive behavior, they intervene promptly, following a progressive discipline program that avoids drastic punishments and shaming.

3. A physical education plan designed to teach kids how to control their impulses and have specific action against bullies.

Students receive martial arts grooming that emphasizes anger management, self control, and office playing to acquire physical methods to de-escalate conflicts.

4. A mentoring plan designed to teach kids to avoid involvement in bullying.

Community volunteers patrol school corridors and playgrounds, monitoring children and interim as mediators. They enter into games with kids (during recess) and actively jitney kids in conflict resolution.

Later Twemlow and colleagues tested the plan in an inner urban center American elementary school, disciplinary referrals for physical aggression dropped by fifty%.

In a control school matched for demographics and other variables, the rates of referrals didn't change.

Reducing the prevalence of bullying in schoolhouse had another beneficial effect: the school in the experimental program reported higher standardized test scores (Twemlow et al 2001).

After the same program was extended to five more primary schools, researchers reported like results (Fonagy et al 2005).

Which element(southward) of the CAPSLE program were effective?

Twemlow and his colleagues tested a whole bundle of anti-bullying measures, so it's difficult to know which of these were crucial for success. But assay past Maria Ttofi and David Farrington suggests some answers.

The researchers reviewed decades of enquiry, and focused on the most rigorous tests of anti-bullying programs (Ttofi and Farrington 2011).

What did the about constructive anti-bullying school programs take in common?

Four features stood out:

• parent training in conflict resolution
• improved playground supervision
• house disciplinary sanctions against students who smashing
• teacher training and classroom direction

And then information technology appears that that parents and teachers — trained in positive discipline methods — can make a divergence.

There is also evidence that shut, warm adult-child relationships can assist.

We know, for case, that positive, opens in a new windowsupportive instructor-student relationships buffer the effects of toxic stress.

Can they also reduce the rate of bullying? That seems possible. In a study of U.Southward. middle schools, researchers found that bullying was less prevalent when teachers reported positive instructor-pupil relationships (Espelage et al 2014).

In addition, there'southward reason to think that kids benefit from mentoring — engaging in warm, personal relationships with older office models.

For example, a small written report of troubled fourth graders may take reduced bullying rates past assigning kids to twice-weekly sessions with a friendly, older person.

The mentors were trained to build warm, close relationships with their kids. They were also trained to assist kids build skills relevant to succeeding in schoolhouse.

The kids were tested earlier and afterward enrolling in the plan, and compared with kids in a control group. After four months, the mentored children were less likely to written report having bullied a peer in the previous xxx days (King et al 2002).

These results are consequent with a very large, correlational study. Reviewing the progress of more than 65,000 school children in the U.s., researchers found that children without mentors had twice the odds of bulling other kids (Azuine and Singh 2019).

Just non all school interventions succeed

For example, the Olweus program is a "whole schoolhouse" anti-bullying intervention developed and tested in Norway (Olweus 1994). It has had corking success in its home country (Olweus et al 2019), and it has reduced rates of bullying in some American schools (e.g., Limber et al 2018).

Yet some attempts to implement the programme take failed (e.g., Bauer et al 2007).

In addition, inquiry suggests that certain types of intervention haven't been very effective, non on their ain.

For case, when researchers Rachel Vreelman and Aaron Carroll combed the published literature for rigorous tests of school-based interventions, they plant trivial evidence that anti-bullying curricula — video programs, lectures, and written materials — were helpful. Only 4 out of 10 studies reported decreases in bullying (Vreeman and Carroll 2007).

Why do school-based interventions fail?

It'south important to recognize that the success of the CAPSLE program, and other school programs, may depend on a good "fit" to local cultural weather condition. Perhaps the Olweus program requires a bit of cultural "tweaking" to reach kids in the United States.

It also depends on the dosage: Programs fare better when they are intensive and long-lasting (Ttofi and Farrington 2011; Menesini and Salmivalli 2017).

And in some cases, teachers may neglect to enforce naught tolerance, or actually engage in bullying themselves. When teachers think of bullying as a normal phase of childhood, they are less likely to reprimand aggressive students, and bullying becomes more prevalent (Troop-Gordon and Ladd 2015). Likewise, kids are more probable to dandy each other when the detect teachers bullying students (Oldenburg et al 2015).

Then perchance some anti-bullying programs falter because teachers aren't post-obit through, or setting a skilful example.

Finally, nosotros probably need to do a better job of addressing the distinctive psychology of bullies.

Some bullies suffer from clinically high levels of arousal and anxiety, and they are quick to attribute hostile intentions to others. These kids are at high risk for developing serious psychiatric conditions.

Other bullies are opens in a new windowsocially-adept, confident, and popular.  They are lacking in social skills and self-esteem. But they may have other problems. Studies advise they are more than likely than other kids to endorse cynical, harsh, Machiavellian beliefs.

Can more than targeted interventions do a better job of reducing bullying in school? I suspect and then. For more details, see this commodity on addressing opens in a new windowthe underlying, psychological causes of bullying in school.

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References: How to stop bullying in school

If yous're looking for a cursory overview of how to stop bullying in school, y'all might begin with Dan Olweus' highly influential book, Bullying at School: What we know and what we can exercise (Wiley-Blackwell 1993).

In addition, the references cited in this article include:

Azuine RE and Singh GK. 2019. Mentoring, bullying, and educational outcomes among US school-aged children 6-17 Years. J Sch Health. 2022 Feb vii.

Bollmer JM, Milich R, Harris MJ, and Maras MA. 2005. A friend in demand: the role of friendship quality as a protective factor in peer victimization and bullying. J Interpers Violence. twenty(6):701-12.

Bagley C and Pritchard C. 1998. The reduction of plan behaviours and school exclusion in at-risk youth: An experimental report of school social work with price-benefit analysis. Child Fam Soc Piece of work 3: 219-226.

Baldry Ac. 2003. Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse Negl. 27(seven):713-32.

Bauer NS, Lozano P, and Rivara FP. 2007. The effectiveness of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Plan in public center schools: a controlled trial. J Adolesc Health. 2007 Mar;twoscore(3):266-74.

DeRosier ME. 2004. Building relationships and combating bullying: effectiveness of a school-based social skills group intervention. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 33(i):196-201.

Espelage DL, Polanin JR, Low SK. 2014. Teacher and staff perceptions of school environs as predictors of student assailment, victimization, and willingness to intervene in bullying situations. Sch Psychol Q. 29(iii):287-305.

Fonagy P, Twemlow SW, Vernberg E, Sacco FC, and Niggling TD. 2005. Creating a peaceful school learning environs: the impact of an antibullying program on educational attainment in elementary schools. Med Sci Monit. xi(seven):CR317-25.

Hawkins DL, Pepler DJ, and Craig WM. 2001. Naturalistic observations of peer interventions in bullying. Social Development 10(4): 512-527.

Houlston C and Smith PK. 2008. The affect of a peer counselling scheme to address bullying in an all-girl London secondary schoolhouse: A short-term longitudinal study. Br J Educ Psychol. 2008 Apr 23.

Hudley C and Graham S. 1993. An attributional intervention to reduce peer-directed aggression amongst African-American boys. Child Dev. 64(i):124-38.

Rex KA, Vidourek RA, Davis B, and McClellan Westward. 2002. Increasing self-esteem and school connection through through a multidimensional mentoring plan. J Sch Wellness. 72(seven):294-ix.

Limber SP, Olweus D, Wang Due west, Masiello M, Breivik K. 2018. Evaluation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program: A large scale study of U.Due south. students in grades iii-xi. J Sch Psychol. 69:56-72.

Mehta SB, Cornell D, Fan X, Gregory A. 2013. Bullying climate and school engagement in 9th-form students. J Sch Health. 83(1):45-52.

Melzer C, Bigian A, Rusby J, and Sprague J. 2001. Evaluation of a comprehensive behavior direction program to improve schoolhouse-broad positive beliefs support. Educ Treat Child 24: 448-479.

Menesini East and Salmivalli C. 2017. Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and constructive interventions Psychology, Wellness & Medicine 22(sup1):one-14

Nickel MK, Muehlbacher Thou, Kaplan P, Krawczyk J, Buschmann Due west, Kettler C, Rother Northward, Egger C, Rother WK, Loew TK, and Nickel C. 2006. Influence of family unit therapy on bullying behaviour, cortisol secretion, anger, and quality of life in bullying male adolescents: A randomized, prospective, controlled report. Can J Psychiatry. 51(6):355-62.

Nickel M, Luley J, Krawczyk J, Nickel C, Widermann C, Lahmann C, Muehlbacher M, Forthuber P, Kettler C, Leiberich P, Tritt Grand, Mitterlehner F, Kaplan P, Pedrosa Gil F, Rother W, and Loew T. 2006. Bullying girls – changes after brief strategic family therapy: a randomized, prospective, controlled trial with ane-twelvemonth follow-up. Psychother Psychosom. 75(1):47-55.

Oldenburg B, van Duijn G, Sentse Thou, Huitsing Yard, van der Ploeg R, Salmivalli C, Veenstra R. 2015. Teacher characteristics and peer victimization in elementary schools: a classroom-level perspective. J Abnorm Kid Psychol. 43(one):33-44.

Olweus D. 1994. Bullying at school: basic facts and effects of a school based intervention programme. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 35: 1171-1190.

Orobio de Castro B, Slot NW, Bosch JD, Koops W, and Veerman JW. 2003. Negative feelings exacerbate hostile attributions of intent in highly aggressive boys. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 32(1):56-65.

Orobio de Castro B, Veerman JW, Koops Due west, Bosch JD, and Monshouwer HJ. 2002. Hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior: a meta-assay. Kid Dev. 73(3):916-34.

Rahey 50 and Craig Due west. 2002. Evaluation of an ecological program to reduce bullying in schools. Can J Counseling 36: 281-296.

Ttofi MM and Farrington DP. 2011. Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: a systematic and meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology 7: 22-56.

Troop-Gordon West, Ladd GW. 2015. Teachers' victimization-related behavior and strategies: associations with students' ambitious behavior and peer victimization. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 43(1):45-60.

Twemlow SW, Fonagy P, and Sacco FC. 2004. The part of the eyewitness in the social compages of bullying and violence in schools and communities. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1036:215-32.

Twemlow SW, Fonagy P, Sacco FC, Gies ML, Evans R and Ewbank R. 2001. Creating a peaceful school learning environment: a controlled study of an unproblematic schoolhouse intervention to reduce violence. Am J Psychiatry 158: 808-810.

Twemlow, SW, Sacco FC, and Twemlow South. 1999. Creating a Peaceful School Learning Environment: A Training Program for Elementary Schools. Agawam, MA: T & Southward Publishing.

Wang W, Vaillancourt T, Brittain HL, McDougall P, Krygsman A, Smith D, Cunningham CE, Haltigan JD, Hymel Due south. 2014. School climate, peer victimization, and academic accomplishment: results from a multi-informant study. Sch Psychol Q. 29(3):360-377.

Vreeman RC and Carroll AE. 2007. and A Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Bullying Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 161(1):78-88.

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