The document provides an overview of research on preventing bullying abuse and school violence. It discusses facts and figures about bullying including prevalence, types, gender differences, and consequences. It also discusses prevention and intervention strategies including developing anti-bullying policies, training staff, working with parents, responding to incidents, and ongoing support. Effective anti-bullying programs are intensive, carefully monitored, and include parent training. Brief awareness events and zero-tolerance policies are less effective. The Alberti Center conducts research to understand and reduce bullying through providing research-based tools.

1. RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
HIGHLIGHTS: PREVENTING
BULLYING ABUSE
AND SCHOOL VIOLENCE
Amanda Nickerson, PhD
Associate Professor and Director
Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention
University at Buffalo
nickersa@buffalo.edu
gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

2. Overview
 Introduction and needs assessment
 Alberti Center slideshow
 Facts and figures about bullying
 Prevention and intervention: The best of our
knowledge
 Vision for and highlights from Alberti Center

3. Facts and Figures

4. Bullying
Intentional, usually repeated
acts of verbal, physical, or
written aggression by a peer
(or group of peers) operating
from a position of strength or
power with the goal of
hurting the victim physically
or damaging status and/or
social reputation
Olweus (1978); United States Department of Education (1998)

5. Types of Bullying
 Physical bullying
 punching, shoving, acts that hurt people
 Verbal bullying
 name calling, making offensive remarks
 Indirect bullying
 spreading rumors, excluding, ganging up
 Cyber bullying
 willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of
computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices
Hinduja & Patchin (2009)

6. Bullying vs. Teasing vs. Conflict
Teasing: Fun, good-natured,
“give-and-take” between friends designed
to get both parties to laugh
Conflict: A struggle, dispute,
and/or misunderstanding
between two opposing forces
Bullying: Based on a power
imbalance; taunting another with the
intent of harming; continues when
the other is distressed

7. Prevalence
 Estimates vary WIDELY, but according to
student self-report...
 20-25% have bullied at least once
 5-20% bully consistently
 15-40% are targets of bullying
 20-25% are bullied regularly
 ~ 18-20% are cyber-bullied
 1-2% are extreme victims who experience
severe traumatization or distress
Carylyle & Steinman (2007); Cowie (2000); Nansel et al. (2001);
Perry, Kusel, & Perry (1988); Skiba & Fontanini (2000)

8. When and Where
Does Bullying Occur?
 Pre-K through late high school (and beyond);
peaks in middle school
 Physical bullying declines as children get older
 Social, verbal, and cyberbullying continue through
high school
 Anywhere; most likely in less closely supervised
areas
 Bus, locker room, playground,
lunch, hallways, and everywhere
(for cyberbullying)

9. Gender Differences
 Boys
 More direct, physical bullying
 Bully more frequently than girls
 Bully both boys and girls
 Girls
 More indirect
 More subtle, hard to detect, and often occurs in
groups
 Tend to target other girls of the same age
 Cyberbullying slightly more common than for
males
Banks (2000); Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim, & Sadek, (2010); Crick & Grotpeter, (1995);
Hinduja & Patchin, (2009); Hoover & Oliver, (1996); Nansel et al., (2001); Olweus, (2002);

10. Common Characteristics of
Students who Bully
 Desire for power and control
 Get satisfaction from others’ suffering
 Justify their behavior (“he deserved it”)
 More exposed to physical punishment
 More likely to be depressed
 Engage in other risky and delinquent
behaviors
 Alcohol and drug use
 Fighting
Batsche & Knoff (1994); Beaver, Perron, & Howard, (2010); Olweus (1993);
Swearer et al. (in press); Vaughn, Bender, DeLisi, (in press)

11. Students who Bully: Complex
Picture
 Often popular, high
social status
 Report average self-
esteem and believe
they are superior
 Most do NOT lack self-
esteem
 However, also report
being less engaged in
school, less supported
by others, more
depressed

12. Characteristics of Children
who are Bullied
 Have a position of relative weakness
 Age, ethnic background, financial status, disability,
sexual orientation
 Most are passive and lack assertiveness
 Do nothing to invite aggression
 Do not fight back when attacked
 May relate better to adults than peers
 Fewer provoke others (provocative victims or
bully-victims)
 Offend, irritate, tease others
 Reactive; fight back when attacked
Boivin, Poulin, & Vitaro (1994); Hodges & Perry (1999); Olweus (1978, 1993, 2001);
Schwartz (2000); Snyder et al. (2003)

13. Consequences for Youth who Bully
 More likely to experience legal or criminal
troubles as adults (even after controlling for
other risk factors)
 Poor ability to develop and maintain positive
relationships in later life
Andershed, Kerr, & Stattin (2001); Farrington (2009); Farrington, & Ttofi (2009, 2011);
Oliver, Hoover, & Hazler (1994); Olweus (1993); Ttofi & Farrington (2008)

14. Consequences for Targets of Bullying
 Emotional distress
 Loneliness, peer rejection
 Desire to avoid school
 Increased anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation;
low self-esteem
 In some cases, may respond with extreme
violence (two-thirds of school shooters were
victims of bullying)
Boivin, Hymel, & Bukowski (1995);
Boulton & Underwood (1992);
Crick & Bigbee (1998);
Egan & Perry (1998);
Hinduja, & Patchin, (2009);
Kochenderfer & Ladd (1996);
Nickerson & Sltater (2009);
Olweus (1993); Perry et al. (1988)

15. Social Context of Bullying
Culture & School
Family Bully, Target, and
Community (Staff/Peers)
Bystander
Adapted from
Swearer & Espelage

16. Bullying and Bystanders
 Peers see 85% of bullying (most join in, some
ignore, small number intervene)
 Peers are influential in early adolescence, when
they are more supportive of bullying and less
likely to intervene
 Bullying = higher social status in a group
 Adolescents seek out peers who display more
independent, aggressive as opposed to more adult-
like, conforming behaviors
 “Culture of silence”
Charach et al. (1995); Hawkins, Pepler, & Craig

17. Bullying and School Environment
 Bullying is more likely to thrive in:
 Unsupportive or unhealthy school climates
 Environments lacking in sense of belonging for
students and strong relationships among and between
students, teachers, and families
 Schools where adults ignore or dismiss bullying
behaviors
 Schools who serve students who are not academically
engaged
 LEADERSHIP IS CRITICAL!!!
Doll, Song, Champion, & Jones, (2011); Holt, Keyes, & Koenig, (2011); Kasen, Johnson,
Chen, Crawford, & Cohen, (2011); Swearer (in press)

18. Bullying and Families
 For children who bully, there may be…
 Less warmth, involvement, supervision
 Lack of clear, consistent rules
 Harsh/corporal punishment
 Parental discord
 Domestic violence/child abuse
Bowers et al. (1994); Finnegan et al. (1998); Ladd & Ladd (1998);
Nickerson, Mele, & Princiotta (2008); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999)

19. Bullying and Families (cont.)
 For children who are bullied, there may be…
 More intense, positive, and overprotective parenting
(for boys)
 More threats of rejection and lack of assertion (for
girls)
 Inconsistent discipline practices (overprotective and
neglectful) without warmth for bully-victims
 For children who intervene, there may be…
 More open, trusting relationships with mothers
Bowers et al. (1994); Finnegan et al. (1998); Ladd & Ladd (1998);
Nickerson, Mele, & Princiotta (2008); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999)

20. Bullying and School Staff
 Often not involved in bullying problem or
resolution
 Intervene less than 10% of the time
 Not told about problem (victims fear reprisal)
 Powerful influence on peer acceptance of
others
 Warmth, positive feedback leads to greater peer
acceptance
Banks (1997); Chang (2003); Cohn & Canter (2002); Hughes, Cavell, & Willson (2001);
Limber (2002);
Mullin-Rindler (2003); Skiba & Fonanini (2000); White, Sherman, & Jones (1996)

21. Bullying and Culture/Community
 Exposure to violent TV/video games predicts
greater risk of bullying actions
 Characteristics of neighborhoods have
significant effects on bullying behavior
 Unsafe
Increased risk of
 Violent
bullying
 Disorganized
behaviors
Cook et al, (2010); Gentile (2003); Olson et al. (2009); Swearer et al. (in press)

22. Prevention and Intervention:
The Best of our Knowledge

23. What can Schools do?
 Have a clear and sensible definition of bullying
 Collect data about its occurrence in your
school
 Ensure that behavioral and social-emotional
skills are developed to prevent bullying
 Develop and implement anti-bullying policy
 Actively involve students in efforts
 Provide training to staff and parents about
Farrington & Ttofi, (2009); Gregory, Cornell, responses (2010); Koth, Bradshaw, &
bullying and effective Fan, Sheras, & Shih
Leaf, (2008); Olweus (1993); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999); Rigby (n.d.)

24. Anti-Bullying Policies
 Definitions
 Statement about expected behaviors and
prohibitions
 Reporting procedure
 Investigation and disciplinary actions
 Continuum of consequences and interventions
 Training and prevention procedures
 Assistance for target

25. Working with Parents
 Proactively communicate the importance
of a safe and respectful environment
 Workshops, newsletters, open house
 Be clear about school’s policies
 Communicate about incidents

26. Immediate Response to Bullying
 Stop the bullying
 Name the bullying behavior and refer to school rules
against it
 Engage other students (bystanders) in why this is
not OK
 Apply consequences to student bullying
 Be aware of possible humiliation or
retaliation against target so use
caution in what is done in front of others

27. Follow-up with Student who is
Bullying
 Remove from situation
 Expect denial
 Focus on the behavior (not on the person)
 Inform student about consequences
 Apologize to victim and make plan for preventing problem in future
 Discuss incident with teacher, administrator, or parent
 Pay for damaged belongings
 Spend time in office or another classroom
 Lose privilege (e.g., unable to play in sports game)
 Communicate with parents

28. Communicating with Parents
 Be timely with communication!
 Focus on the behavior (not the person)
 Avoid blaming or judging (expect denial)
 Emphasize how this type of behavior can be a
problem for their child, the other person, and the
school environment
 Inform parent about school response
 Work together to help child behave in other ways

29. Follow-up with Student who is
Bullied
 Listen and empathize – allow to tell story
 Ask how you can work together to support and
stop
 Assure that action will be taken

30. Ongoing Work with Students
who are Bullied
 Identify qualities that may make them
vulnerable and intervene accordingly
 Enhance social support (peers and adults)
 Encourage involvement in an activity in
which he or she can experience success
 “Check in” regularly about bullying
 Monitor for signs of depression, suicide, or
violence and refer to mental health
professional
 1-800-273-TALK (Suicide Lifeline)
 1-866-4-U-Trevor (Hotline for LGTQ youth)
 www.crisischat.org (text)
 1-800-KIDS-400 (Buffalo Crisis Services

31. Ongoing Work with Students who
Bully
 Teach problem-solving to
manage emotions
 Cognitive restructuring for
problematic attributions
(e.g., “He deserved it;” “Now
they know who is in charge”)
 Assess for other problems
(e.g., drugs, suicidality)
 Increase empathy and
perspective taking

32. Anti-Bullying Programs
 Some evidence to support effectiveness of
school bullying interventions in
enhancing…
 Teacher knowledge
 Efficacy in intervention skills
 Behavior in responding to incidences of bullying
 To a lesser extent, reduction of participation of
students in bully and victim roles
(Merrell, Gueldner, Ross, & Isava, 2008 meta-analysis)

33. Anti-Bullying Programs
 On average, bullying decreased by 20-
30% and victimization 17-20% through the
use of school-based interventions
 Best results for programs that are:
 intensive and long-lasting
 carefully monitored for fidelity of implementation
 assessed regularly (2x monthly)
 evidence-based
 inclusive of parent training activities
(Ttofi & Farrington, 2011 meta-analysis)

34. What DOESN’T Work?
 Brief assemblies or one-day awareness raising
events
 Zero-tolerance policies
 May result in under-reporting bullying
 Limited evidence in curbing bullying behavior
 Peer mediation, peer-led conflict resolution
 Many programs that used this approach actually saw an
increase in victimization
 Grouping children who bully together may actually
reinforce this behavior
Dodge, Dishion, & Lansford, (2006); Farrington & Ttofi, (2009); Nansel et al., (2001)

35. Vision for and Highlights from
Alberti Center

36. Alberti Center Mission
To further our
understanding and
to reduce bullying
abuse in schools by
providing research-
based tools to
actively change the
language, attitudes,
and behaviors of
educators, parents,
students, and wider
society. Dr. Jean M. Alberti

37. Current Research Projects
 Bullying and Wellness Study (Grades 5-8)
 School Climate and Prevention and
Intervention Efforts Regarding Bullying and
Harassment
 Before and after Dignity Act implementation
 PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and
Intervention Training Evaluation
 Past Victimization and Current Attachment in
College Students

38. Proposed Research Projects
(grant proposals)
 Changes in students’ attitudes and bullying
behaviors in middle school in relation to
schools’ school climate and bullying prevention
efforts
 Effectiveness of social norms and bystander
intervention training on peer intervention in
bullying and sexual harassment

39. Translating Research to Practice
 Website
 Resources, presentations, and events!
 Presentations
 Media interviews and appearances
 Quarterly e-newsletters (sign up for our mailing
list!)
 Colloquia and annual conference
 Education.com Special Edition, “Bullying at
School and Online” – good for parents!

40. Closing (and Opening)
"It is the long history of
humankind (and animal
kind, too) those who
learned to collaborate and
improvise most effectively
have prevailed.“
- Charles Darwin
Questions? Ideas?
Please provide input on needs
assessment!!