bullying prevention catherine bradshaw, ph.d., m.ed. associate professor, department of mental...

Bullying Prevention

Catherine Bradshaw, Ph.D., M.Ed.Associate Professor, Department of Mental Health

Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence (CDC)

Co-Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Prevention & Early Intervention (NIMH)

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

[email protected] July 2010

Student, Staff, & Parent Perspectives on Bullying: Implications for School-wide Bullying Prevention

Overview Summary of research on bullying

- Definitions, forms & effects

Integrating PBIS with bullying prevention- Things you can do to prevent bullying through

PBIS

Resources on bullying

Defining Bullying

Aggressive behavior that intends to cause harm or distress

Usually is repeated over time

Occurs in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power or strength

(HRSA, 2006; Limber & Alley, 2006; Olweus, 1993)

Why Focus on Bullying?

Growing National & Local Concerns High profile cases and specific incidents (Leary et al., 2003;

Verlinden et al., 2000)

Increased awareness of negative effects- Social-emotional & mental health (Nansel et al., 2001)

- Academic performance (Glew et al., 2005)

- Health (Fekkes et al., 2006)

44 states have passed legislation related to bullying (Limber & Alley, 2006; NY Times, 2010) Maryland General Assembly Bills Passed (2008)

Safe School Reporting Act of 2005 - Sunset repeal (HB1209) Safe Schools Reporting Act - Teacher report (HB1158) Bullying and Cyber-Bullying - Develop model policies & programs (HB199)

Prevalence of Bullying Being bullied 1 or more

times in the last month– Elementary – 48%– Middle – 47%– High – 39%

Frequent involvement in bullying (2+ in last month)

– Elementary – 31%– Middle – 31%– High – 26%

Ever bully someone else– Elementary – 24%– Middle – 45%– High – 54%

Witnessing bullying during the last month– Elementary – 58%– Middle – 74%– High – 79%

N=25,119 (Students grades 4-12; December 2005). Also see: Bradshaw et al., 2007, 2008; Nansel et al., 2001; O’Brennan, Bradshaw & Sawyer, 2009; Spriggs et al., 2007; Finkelhor et al., 2010.

Forms of BullyingDirect Hitting, kicking, shoving, spitting, stealing Taunting, teasing, sexual comments Threatening, obscene gesturesIndirect Getting another person to bully someone for you Spreading rumors Deliberately excluding someone from a group or

activity Cyberbullying

Forms of BullyingHow were you bullied within the last month?

(N=25,119 students grades 4-12)

Cyberbullying Study of 3,767 children (grades 6-8) Prevalence

- 25% of girls and 11% of boys had been cyberbullied at least once- 13% of girls and 9% of boys had cyberbullied someone else at least once

Common methods of cyberbullying- Instant messaging: 67% (8th graders more)- Chat rooms: 25%- E-mail: 24%- Website: 24%- Text messaging: 15% (8th graders more)

Who did the cyberbullying?- Student at school (53%)- Didn’t know (48%)- Friend (37%)- Sibling (13%)

Appears to be different from other forms of bullying

(Kowalski et al., 2007; Spriggs et al., in press)

Types of Cyberbullying• Flaming: online fights with angry language• Harassment: repeatedly sending mean or insulting

messages• Denigration: sending gossip, rumors• Outing: sharing secrets or embarrassing information• Trickery: tricking someone to sharing secrets• Impersonation: pretending to be someone else, while

posting damaging material• Exclusion: cruelly excluding someone• Cyberstalking: intense harassment that includes threats

and creates fear

Sexting• Sending or forwarding sexually explicit photos, videos

or messages from a mobile phone or other digital device.

• Approximately 20% teens aged 12-18 have engaged in sexting, by either sending or receiving sexually suggestive text messages or email with nude or nearly nude photos or videos of themselves or someone they know.

• Students and staff must be alerted that they could be breaking the law if they create, forward or even save this type of message.

Pew Research Center (2009); Cox Communications (2009);

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (2008)

Gender and Development Differences Males generally more likely than females to

be both perpetrators and victims Except cyberbullying, which may be more

common among girls Physical forms more common among boys Indirect (relational) about equal for males and

females

Tends to peak in middle school Except cyberbullying, which appears to increase

through high school(Nansel et al. JAMA, 2001)

Location of BullyingWhere were you bullied within the last month?

N=25,119 (Students grades 4-12; December 2005)

Immediate Effects of Bullying When you were bullied, were you:

Note. This question was not asked of elementary children.

Effects of Bullying forVictims & Perpetrators

Social-Emotional Problems V - Anxiety & Depression (Eagan & Perry, 1998) P - Aggressive behavior & attitudes supporting retaliation (Bradshaw et al., 2008)

P - Suicidal ideation (Rigby, 1996; van der Wal et al., 2003)

Physical Illness (Fekkes et al., 2003) V - Headaches (3 times as likely)

V - Problems sleeping (twice as likely)

V - Abdominal pain (twice as likely)

Academic Performance & Engagement V&P - Absenteeism, avoidance of school, dropout (Smith et al., 2004; Rigby, 1996)

V&P - Dislike school, feel less connected to others at school, & lower grades (Bradshaw et al., 2008; Eisenberg et al., 2003)

V&P - Perceive climate to be less favorable & feel unsafe at school (Bradshaw et al., 2008)

V&P - Lower class participation - leads to lower achievement (Buhs et al., 2006)

(Note. V = Victim, P = Perpetrator)

Perceptions of Safety By Frequency of Involvement in

Bullying

Response to Bullying

When you were bullied, what did you do?

N=25,119 (Students grades 4-12; Waasdorp & Bradshaw, under review)

Per

cen

t of

Sta

ff R

esp

ond

ents

MS Student Report(32.7%)

ES Student Report (33.7%)

HS Student Report (22.7%)

Staff Perceptions & Student Reports of the Prevalence of Frequent Bullying

Percent of Students Perceived By Staff to Be Frequently Bullied

% S

taff

Rep

orti

ng

Pre

vale

nce

Rat

e

(Bradshaw et al., 2007, SPR)

Student vs. Staff Perceptions

Students (N=15,185) Seen adults at school watching

bullying and doing nothing– Middle – 43%– High – 54%

Believe adults at their school are NOT doing enough to stop or prevent bullying– Middle – 58%– High – 66%

Believe that teachers who try to stop bullying only make it worse – Middle – 61%– High – 59%

Staff (N=1,547) Said they would intervene

if they saw bullying– 97%

Believe have effective strategies for handling bullying– 87%

Believe they made things worse when they intervened– 7%

(% “agree” to “strongly agree”)


Staff Victimization 22% of (all) staff reported having been bullied

at their school (as adults) 8.8% by another staff 7.7% by parent 6.3% by student

Rates highest for middle school staff 34% MS, 21% HS, 17% ES

53% reported having been bullied as a child


Staff Experiences with Bullying

Staff Efficacy: Staff who had effective strategies Thought bullying was less of a problem Thought their school was doing “enough” to prevent

bullying Were more likely to intervene Were less likely to make the situation worse Felt safer at school Felt like they belonged at school


Parent Perceptions of Bullying

• My child has witnessed bullying during the last month

– Elementary – 27.0%

– Middle – 48.1%

– High – 43.1%

• Bullying is a problem at my child’s school


– Middle – 38.7%

– High – 40.6%

• Believe students who misbehave at school get away with it


– Middle – 46.2%

– High – 52.3%

• Believe adults at their child’s school are NOT doing enough to stop or prevent bullying


– Middle – 41.4%

– High – 40.6%

(N=1,495 parents in December 2008; Waasdorp & Bradshaw, under review)

Parent Perceptions of BullyingWhen your child was bullied, what did you do?

% P

aren

ts

(N=773 parents of victimized children, Waasdorp & Bradshaw, under review)

More on Parent Perceptions

• Inverse association between parents’ perception of the school and response to bullying– Parents are less likely to talk to their child if they perceive a more

positive school climate.

– Parents are less likely to contact the school if they perceive a more positive school climate

• Suggests that either – 1) parents are taking a more ‘hands-off’ approach to their child’s victimization if they

perceive the school climate positively;

– 2) schools need to actively seek out/encourage parents to discuss bullying with their children as well as feel comfortable contacting the school

• When the child was indirectly victimized (rumors, exclusion) parents were less likely to contact the school as compared to when their child was overtly victimized.

(N=773 parents of victimized children, Waasdorp & Bradshaw, under review)

Is Bullying on the Increase?• Some recent data suggest a slight decrease in

bullying (e.g., Finkelhor et al., 2010; Spriggs et al., 2007)

• However, cyberbullying may be on the increase– May be due to greater access to technology (phones,

Internet)– Issues related to ‘sexting’ also appear to be on the

increase

Frequent Victim

N/S: p > .05

Witnessed Bullying (past month)*

p < .001, 2 = .062

Cyber-Bullied (in Last

Month)*

p < .01, Partial 2 = .048

Perceive Bullies as Popular*

p < .001, 2 = .050

Challenges in Bullying Prevention

Cultural acceptance “Rite of passage” Normative - continues into adulthood and workplace

Ambiguity in the definition and labeling of “bullying” Adult vs. youth perceptions Victim vs. perpetrator perceptions

Television and media portrayal Combating stereotypes

What the Research Says about Classroom

Management • Poorly Managed Classrooms

– increases opportunity for bullying

– place all students at increased risk for behavior problems

– signals to students that the class is out of control

– are rated by students as having poorer climate & unsafe

– limit opportunities for learning

– use more reactive / punitive rather than proactive /

positive management strategies

(Aber et al., 1998; Ialong et al., 1999; Koth, Bradshaw & Leaf, 2008; Mitchell, Bradshaw & Leaf, in press)

School Mental Health

Student Services

Social Emotional Learning

Bullying

Prevention Suicide

Prevention

Special Education Assessment and Referral

Effective Classroom Management

Integrating Programs & Services: A Multi-Component Whole-School Approach to

Prevention

Common “Misdirections” or Cautions in Bullying

Prevention and Intervention

• Zero tolerance (student exclusion)

• Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation

• Group treatment for children who bully

• Simple, short-term solutions

Ten Elements of Best Practice in Bullying

Prevention & Intervention:

With A PBIS twist

(HRSA, Stop Bullying Now & Olweus, 1993; Olweus et al., 2007; Ross, Horner & Stiller, 2007)

http://www.pbis.org

#1: Focus on the social environment of the

school • Requires a change in the school climate and in

norms for behavior.

• A comprehensive, school-wide effort involving the entire school community is needed.

• PBIS is an excellent framework to launch a bullying prevention effort.

#2: Collect and review local data to determine need

related to bullying, climate & violence

• Review SWIS/ODR data

• Administer an anonymous survey to students– Benefits of a survey:

• Findings may help to motivate staff, parents to address issue

• Findings will help to target specific interventions

• Will provide important baseline data from which to measure improvement

#3: Garner staff and parent support for

prevention• Early and enthusiastic support from the

principal is critical.

• Commitment from a majority (80%) of classroom teachers is essential. – Teachers who are committed to bullying

prevention are more likely to fully implement programs

#4: Form a group to coordinate and integrate the school’s prevention

activities• Should be representative of the school community

(or organization):– administrator– teacher from each grade– counselor– non-teaching staff (e.g. bus driver)– school-based health professional– parent– community member

• PBIS team / SIT / subcommittee?

#5: Train all staff how to intervene

effectively• Administrators• All Teachers• Health & mental health professionals• Support Staff• Custodians• Bus Drivers• Lunchroom Supervisors• Playground aides

#6: Establish and enforce school rules and policies

related to bullying• Many schools do not have explicit rules against bullying.• Rules should guide the behavior of children who bully

AND children who witness bullying.• Monitor and acknowledge students for engaging in

appropriate behavior both inside and outside the classroom.

• Provide specific instruction and pre-correction to prevent bullying behavior from being rewarded by victims or bystanders.

• Consistently use positive and negative consequences

• Respect means…– We will not bully others.

– We will try to help students who are bullied.

– We will include students who are easily left out.

– When we know somebody is being bullied, we will tell an adult at school and an adult at home.

Example of Linking Bullying Prevention

with PBISSchool Rules

#7: Increase adult supervision in “hot

spots” where bullying occurs

• Focus on “hot spots” for bulling that are identified by students and through SWIS.

• All adults in a school community should be vigilant to all forms of bullying.

#8: Intervene consistently and

appropriately in bullying situations

• Are all adults prepared to intervene appropriately on-the-spot, whenever they observe bullying?

• Do we have a plan for follow-up interventions with children who bully, victims of bullying, parents?

• Correct the problem behaviors using a consistently administered continuum of consequences.

#9: Focus some class time on bullying

prevention• Set aside a small amount of time each week (class

meetings).

• Discuss bullying and peer relations.

• Use videos, story books, role-playing, artistic expression.

• Integrate bullying prevention throughout the curriculum.

• Include bullying prevention in PBIS lesson plans and review of behavioral matrix.

#10: Sustain these efforts over time

• Bullying prevention should have no “end date.”

• 3-5 years!!

Available at WWW.PBIS.o

rg

Stop Signals

Multi-tiered Bullying Prevention

School-level Form a Bullying Prevention Coordinating Committee Distribute an anonymous student survey Provide training for committee members and staff Develop a coordinated system of supervision Adopt school-wide rules against bullying Develop appropriate consequences for students' behavior Hold staff discussion groups related to the program Involve parents

Olweus Bullying Prevention Programhttp://www.clemson.edu/olweus

Multi-tiered Bullying Prevention (cont.)

Classroom-level Reinforce school-wide rules against bullying Hold regular classroom meetings with students to

increase knowledge & empathy Informational meetings with parents

Individual-level Interventions with children who bully Interventions with children who are bullied Discussions with parents of involved students

http://www.clemson.edu/olweus

Suggested Readings Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Olweus,

D. (1993). NY: Blackwell.

Olweus Bullying Prevention Program: School-wide Guide. Olweus, Limber et al. (2007). Hazelden.

Bullying prevention: Creating a positive school climate and developing social competence. Orpinas, P. & Horne, A. (2005). American Psychological Association.

Bullying in American schools. Espelage, D. & Swearer, S. (2004). Lawrence Erlbaum.

Bullying in schools: How successful can interventions be? (2004). Smith, P., Pepler, D., & Rigby, K. Cambridge.

On-Line Resources Blueprints for violence prevention

http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/index.html Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Admin.

(SAMHSA) http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/

Stop Bullying Now! http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/index.asp

National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Success in school online resource kit http://www.naspcenter.org/resourcekit/index.html

Collaborative for Academic, Social, & Emotional Learning (CASEL) http://www.casel.org

National Center on PBIS http://www.PBIS.org

Acknowledgements

Dr. Rhonda Gill & Mrs. Lucia Martin, MD Bullying Prevention Initiative

Anne Sawyer, Lindsey O’Brennan, Tracy Waasdorp, & Katrina Debnam at JHU

Joann Morris, National Education Association Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Hamilton Fish Institute HRSA and the Stop Bullying Now! National

Campaign

Catherine BradshawEmail: [email protected]

bullying prevention catherine bradshaw, ph.d., m.ed. associate professor, department of mental...

Documents