"Bullying as a Public Health Issue" A presentation by Amanda Nickerson, Ph.D., Director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention March 5, 2012

1. Bullying as a public health issue
Amanda Nickerson, PhD
Associate Professor and Director
Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention
University at Buffalo
nickersa@buffalo.edu
gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter
School of Public Health
March 5, 2012

2. Overview
 Introduction to Alberti Center
 Facts and figures about bullying
 Prevention and intervention: The best of our
knowledge

3. Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention
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.
* Highly consistent with a public
health framework
Dr. Jean M. Alberti
Benefactor

4. Facts and Figures

5. 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
Can happen pre-K through adulthood;
peaks grades 4-7
Olweus (1978); United States Department of Education (1998)

6. 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)

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. 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); Underwood, (2003)

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. 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 (three-
quarters of the 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)

14. Social Context of Bullying
Culture & School
Family Bully, Target, and
Community (Staff/Peers)
Bystander
Adapted from Swearer
& Espelage (2004)

15. Peer and School Influences
 Peers see 85% of bullying (most join in, some ignore,
small number intervene)
 Teachers and school staff are often unaware of or do
not intervene in bullying
 Bullying is more likely to thrive in unsupportive or
unhealthy school climates where there is a lack of
sense of belonging and where bullying is ignored or
dismissed
Charach et al. (1995); Hawkins, Pepler, & Craig; Doll, Song,
Champion, & Jones, (2011); Holt, Keyes, & Koenig, (2011);
Kasen, Johnson, Chen, Crawford, & Cohen, (2011)

16. Possible Family and Community
Contributors to Bullying
 Children who bully
 Less warmth, involvement, supervision
 Lack of clear, consistent rules
 Harsh/corporal punishment
 Parental discord, violence, and/or child abuse
 Exposure to violent TV/video games
 Children who are bullied
 More intense, positive, and overprotective parenting (boys)
 More threats of rejection and lack of assertion (girls)
 Children who intervene
 More open, trusting relationships with mothers
 Supportive context in which to report and intervene
Bowers et al. (1994); Cook et al, (2010); Finnegan et al. (1998); Ladd & Ladd (1998);
Nickerson, Mele, & Princiotta (2008); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999)

17. Prevention and Intervention:
The Best of our Knowledge

18. What can Schools do at the Universal Level?
 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 bullying
and effective responses
Farrington & Ttofi, (2009); Gregory, Cornell, Fan, Sheras, & Shih (2010); Koth, Bradshaw, & Leaf,
(2008); Olweus (1993); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999); Rigby (n.d.)

19. 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

20. 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)

21. 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)

22. 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)

23. 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

24. 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

25. Immediate Intervention for
Student who is Bullying
 Remove from situation
 Expect denial
 Focus on the behavior (not on person)
 Inform student about consequences
 Logical, meaningful, teachable (plan for preventing problem
in future, paying for damages, loss of privilege)
 Communicate with parents
 Focus on behavior and impact for child and others
 Use problem-solving orientation

26. Immediate Intervention for
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

27. 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)
 1-800-KIDS-400 (Buffalo Crisis Hotline)

28. Q &A
 Thank you for your
attention and interest
in this important topic!
 Find out more at
gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter