CYBERBULLYING IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL: PERSPECTIVE OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS September 2011

Conducted by the ABA Center on Children and the Law  Funding through HHS/HRSA/MCHB Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health  Supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

METHODOLOGY  ASCA posted link to Blog and Web page, reaching 28,000 members  20-minute survey

FINDINGS

BACKGROUND  700 Respondents  Majority in schools of 6-12 th graders  Typical school size: under 1,000 students  Male to female ratio: 55%-45%  Typical number of counselors: 3 or less  Respondents from all 50 states plus DC, Panama, and Virgin Islands

How much of a problem is cyberbullying in your school?

How prevalent is cyberbullying compared with other types of bullying? Cyberbullying is: Equally as prevalent47% More prevalent32% Less prevalent21%

Have any students targeted by cyberbullies come to your attention in the past 12 months ? Yes93% No 7%

Number of cyberbullying targets seen in one year by counselors 1-10 students71% students19% students 4% over 30 students 6% 5 is most common number of student targets seen in one year

CHARACTERISTICS What are the most common attributes of vulnerable students?  Gender: Female  Dating relationship  Sexual orientation

What are the most common attributes of students who tend to cyberbully?  Gender: Female  Family dysfunction  Identified as “at risk”  Dating relationship status

IMPACT Do student targets show symptoms of distress? Yes98% No 2%

What symptoms of distress have the student targets shown? From most to least frequently observed:  Anxiety  Depression  Drop in grades/poor grades  Head- or stomach-aches  Truancy  Sleep problems  Suicidal behavior (1/4 of 400 respondents)

Have you been trained on handling cyberbullying? No54% Yes46%

SCHOOL RESPONSE How often are cyberbullying incidents referred for disciplinary action?

Does your state have a cyberbullying law?

Does your school follow a policy/protocol when responding to cyberbullying? Yes71% No29%

What does the policy/protocol address? In decreasing order:  Intervention  Referral to law enforcement  Prevention  Confidentiality  Identification  All of the elements listed  Investigation only

Typical Interventions In decreasing order :  Parent conference  In-school counseling  SRO/law enforcement involvement  Out-of-school suspension  In-school suspension  Referral to services  Peer mediation  Behavior contract  Expulsion  Other

EFFECTIVENESS: Counselors’ Opinions Interventions Most effective Prevention/education Parental involvement Plus SRO/early intervention/peer mediation Least effective Ignoring the issue/doing nothing Lack of protocol, policy or training Suspension/punishment

Barriers to Providing Services, Prevention, or Intervention Targets’ fear of retaliation 73% Lack of legal and/or admin support 15%

Additional Comments  Lack of time, counselors, laws, training, accountability  Societal problem, needing parental involvement, and “this is just what middle school kids are like”  Schools should be prepared and be proactive  Students need to report and be educated  Need more research

Contact Information American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law Sharon Elstein, Research Director Eva Klain, Project Director