Chapter 20: Bullied Children Juventino Gernandez Rodriguez Samantha J. Gregus James T. Craig Freddie A. Pastrana Timothy A. Cavell

Brief Overview Bullying: behavior toward another that is… 1) aggressive or intentionally harmful 2) Done repeatedly over time 3) In the context of an interpersonal relationship marked by an actual or perceived imbalance of power Term focuses on the perpetrator's behavior Peer victimization: occurs in the context of relationships or roles that children develop among peers (Gazelle & Ladd, 2002) Term refers to the victim

Prevalence 20–30% of children report being bullied (Nansel et al., 2001) Younger children report more peer victimization experiences than adolescents Self-reported bullying remains the same or increased from elementary through high school 75–80% of children are relatively uninvolved in bullying Some children are both bullies and victims Outcomes worse for these children than for just a bully or victim alone (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2009)

Effects of Bullying and Peer Victimization Bullying can occur verbally, physically, and relationally Boys more physically aggressive Girls more relationally aggressive (e.g., excluding others, gossiping) Chronic victimization can lead to serious psychosocial maladjustment Probability of having a psychiatric disorder is higher for chronically bullied children and for bully/victims

The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program First large-scale comprehensive intervention program Goals: 1) reduce the prevalence of school victimization and 2) prevent new incidences of bullying Change schoolwide norms and structures to decrease opportunities and rewards for school bullying (Olweus, 1993) Address bullying at level of the student and classroom Mixed results, particularly in the United States

Steps to Respect Schoolwide intervention Multilevel approach to increase adults’ awareness and monitoring of school bullying, support a culture of prosocial behavior, and teach social-emotional skills specific to peer relationships and school bullying (Frey et al., 2005) Classroom curriculum, teacher-led Majority of results positive E.g., reductions in observed bullying and augmentative behavior

KiVa Antibullying Program KiVa: Finnish acronym for “against bullying” School-based program in Finland (Salmivalli et al., 2010) Comprehensive program that targets school-, classroom-, and individual-level factors over the course of an entire school year Emphasizes universal prevention but also specific prevention components Focus on peer groups that maintain school bullying Promising findings E.g., large RCT found schools that received KiVa intervention reported 46% reduction in victimization and 61% reduction in bullying

Parent (and Teacher) Involvement Teachers often first adults to witness peer victimization Empirically supported anti-bullying programs rely heavily on teacher-implemented lessons and strategies Teacher strategies: 1) Enlisting other adults (e.g. principals, parents) 2) Supporting the victim 3) Advocating for the victims to avoid bullies 4) Disciplining bullies 5) Seeking ways to promote greater empathy for victims among bullies Parent-based interventions are lacking Family conflict and low parental involvement are risk factors for peer victimization (Mohr, 2006)

Adaptations and Modifications Nonpunitive interventions: In most bullying prevention programs school staff directly address the behavior of bullies and issue firm consequences for such actions; confronting approach has been challenged Encourage a problem-solving approach (Rigby, 2005) Child-focused skills training interventions: Social skills training is used to teach bullied children new and more adaptive responses to their victimization experiences (Fox & Boulton, 2003)

Modifications Mentor-based interventions: overcome peer-mediated contingencies and reputational biases that tacitly support school bullying while not causing harm to children who are identified and treated Use of school-based mentors helpful to reduce bullying

Measuring Treatment Effects Tailored to the goals of the intervention and the specified unit of analysis (e.g., school, class, individual) Universal prevention: measures given to all students in a school or grade, usually completed anonymously

Change in Prevalence of Victimization Assessment methods: Direct observation Self-report measures: most feasible and common approach Peer ratings or nominations Ratings from teachers Olweus Bully-Victim Questionnaire: most widely used instrument Peer-report procedures: ask students to identify classmates who fit certain roles (e.g., “Someone who gets teased”

Identifying Bullied Children Little research in practical strategies for identifying bullied children (Card & Hodges, 2008) Can gather information from multiple sources over time Could identify victims as all children who score at or above 1 standard deviation (SD) above the mean on a measure (~16% of children will be identified) Or rely on preestablished cutoff scores that are thought to indicate a significant level of risk

Clinical Case: Anna 4th grade, female Lunch Buddy mentoring program Pre- to post mentoring peer victimization decreased, according to self-report and teacher report Mother reported “great” difference in her daughter Self-reported improvements in peer relationships Counselor indicated that Anna was less likely to come to his office seeking help with her peer problems

Clinical Case: Darcy Hispanic, 5th grade, female Lunch Buddy mentoring program Self-report of victimization decreased after mentoring Social preference increased Teachers and parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program Teacher reported that Darcy’s problems appeared to worsen over time but that this had nothing to do with the program Counselor indicated that the Lunch Buddy mentoring had given Darcy a positive experience in relating to other kids