Overall Summary of Ontario-wide ThinkTanks

People of all ages can be bullied. The Centre for Elder Research is working with Sheridan faculty member Dr. Kirsten Madsen and Elder Abuse Prevention (ON) to better understand bullying between older adults age 55+ in Ontario. This work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and aims to support the development of best practices and strategies for this diverse population. Our project aims are to collect data on the prevalence and nature of Senior to Senior bullying in Ontario, and to use this data to create a resource package outlining best practices for seniors and those working with seniors to stop bullying

Bullying and Victimization in Elementary Schools: A Comparison of Bullies, Victims, Bully/Victims, and Uninvolved Preadolescents

Research on bullying and victimization largely rests on univariate analyses and on reports from a single informant. Researchers may thus know too little about the simultaneous effects of various independent and dependent variables, and their research may be biased by shared method variance. The database for this Dutch study was large (N = 1,065) and rich enough to allow multivariate analysis and multisource information. In addition, the effect of familial vulnerability for internalizing and externalizing disorders was studied. Gender, aggressiveness, isolation, and dislikability were most strongly related to bullying and victimization. Among the many findings that deviated from or enhanced the univariate knowledge base were that not only victims and bully/victims but bullies as well were disliked and that parenting was unrelated to bullying and victimization once other factors were controlled.

Incidence of bullying and victimisation among adolescents in New Zealand

Bullying and victimisation are highly prevalent among young people, and both bullies and victims exhibit negative outcomes (Stassen Berger, 2007). Adolescents are greatly involved in bullying and experience particularly adverse outcomes in comparison with children (Kim & Leventhal, 2008; Simon-Davies, 2011). Furthermore bullying phenomena are under-researched in New Zealand samples. This paper aims to describe the nature of bullying and victimisation in a large sample of New Zealand adolescents and compare the findings to results from international samples. Four types of bullying will be assessed: traditional bullying inside the school, traditional bullying outside the school, cyber bullying via text message and cyber bullying via the internet. The same four types of victimisation will also be assessed

Bullying among siblings

Background: Parents are often concerned about repeated conflicts between their daughters and sons. However, there is little empirical research of sibling bullying. Objective: To conduct a review of existing studies of sibling bullying. Are there any associations between sibling bullying and peer bullying at school? What are the consequences of sibling bullying? Is there good justification why sibling bullying has been so neglected in research? Method: Studies of sibling relationships were reviewed. Four quantitative studies were identified that report on both sibling and peer bullying. Results: Sibling bullying is frequent with up to 50% involved in sibling bullying every month and between 16% and 20% involved in bullying several times a week. Experience of sibling bullying increases the risk of involvement in bullying in school. Both, bullying between siblings and school bullying make unique contributions to explaining behavioral and emotional problems. There is a clear dose-effect relationship of involvement of bullying at home and at school and behavioral or emotional problems. Those involved in both have up to 14 times increased odds of behavioral or emotional problems compared to those involved in only one context or not at all. Conclusions: The empirical evidence is limited and studies are mostly cross-sectional studies. Nevertheless, the review suggests that for those victimized at home and at school behavioral and emotional problems are highly increased. Sibling relationships appear to be a training ground with implications for individual well-being. Strengthening families and parenting skills and increasing sibling support is likely to reduce bullying and increase well-being

Perceptions of control in the victims of school bullying : the importance of early intervention

Improvements in anti-bullying strategies are likely to depend upon a greater understanding of the psychological processes at work. Transactional theories of coping may be appropriate models to use when examining how the victims of bullying cope with victimization. Research has started to examine the coping strategy aspects of such theories but has neglected the process of appraisal. The current paper aims to address this by examining the perceptions of control in the victims of bullying, and how these are influenced by such variables as gender and the severity, persistence and type of bullying experienced. A self-report questionnaire examining coping responses and perceptions of control regarding the bullying situation was administered to 348 children aged nine to 11 years. Data from the victims of bullying (N = 184) revealed that girls felt less in control of frequent bullying than infrequent bullying, a trend not evident in boys (p < 0.05). In addition, a significantly higher proportion of the male victims of bullying felt more in control than female victims (p < 0.01). Finally, victims of short-term bullying were significantly more likely to feel in control than were victims of longer-term bullying (p < 0.05). The complex relationship between gender, perceptions of control, and the persistence and frequency of bullying has implications for early intervention and for professionals working with the victims of bullying

Teachers' recognition of school bullying according to background variables and type of bullying

How teachers identify and judge school bullying may affect their willingness to intervene in bullying situations and influence their strategies for doing so. This study aimed to investigate whether there were significant differences in teachers' identification of bullying incidents according to background variables (gender, teaching experience, and education level). The participants of this study were 150 primary school and middle school teachers in Taiwan, A 24-item Recognition of Bullying incidents Questionnaire (RBIQ) was used in this study to explore whether teachers can identify physical, verbal, and relational scenarios as bullying or non-bullying incidents. A mixed-model two way ANOVA was used to analyze this data. Results revealed that teachers' teaching experiences significantly interacted with behavioral types, and teachers' education levels also sigm candy interacted with behavioral types. In addition, no gender differences in the identification of bullying were observed. Overall, teachers were more likely to identifi physical bullying incidents than relational ones. The results of this study suggest that teachers should participate in training to help them identify bullying incidents, particularly when these involve relational bullying

“Is Sarah a Bully or a Friend?”: Examining Students’ Text-based Written Expressions of Bullying

Bullying has been recognized as a complex phenomenon with potential for serious negative outcomes. Activities that address complex social situations of bullying, such as reading and writing to a pen pal about fictional literature, provide space for students to think and share about personal issues that they encounter and how characters deal with similar issues in productive ways. For this research, we used a critical literacy lens to explore bullying within the context of language, power and context. This research shares qualitative analysis of letters students wrote to adult pen pals after reading a fictional book with a plot addressing bullying. Letters from 32 students were analyzed and four themes emerged: 1) text-based interpretations about bullying; 2) personal experiences and perspectives about bullying; 3) bullying in relation to friendship and social positioning; and 4) lessons learned for addressing bullying via action and advocacy

Evidence synthesis on the occurrence, causes, consequences, prevention and management of bullying and harassment behaviours to inform decision making in the NHS

Background Workplace bullying is a persistent problem in the NHS with negative implications for individuals, teams, and organisations. Bullying is a complex phenomenon and there is a lack of evidence on the best approaches to manage the problem. Aims Research questions What is known about the occurrence, causes, consequences and management of bullying and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace? Objectives Summarise the reported prevalence of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Summarise the empirical evidence on the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Describe any theoretical explanations of the causes and consequences of workplace bullying and inappropriate behaviour. Synthesise evidence on the preventative and management interventions that address workplace bullying interventions and inappropriate behaviour. Methods To fulfil a realist synthesis approach the study was designed across four interrelated component parts: Part 1: A narrative review of the prevalence, causes and consequences of workplace bullying Part 2: A systematic literature search and realist review of workplace bullying interventions Part 3: Consultation with international bullying experts and practitioners Part 4: Identification of case studies and examples of good practic

Bullies in the Block Area: The Early Childhood Origins of Mean Behavior

Bullying can pose a serious threat to children's immediate and long-term health and well-being, and can have profound impacts on all children involved in bullying behaviors, whether as the one bullying others, the one being bullied, or the one witnessing bullying. At least some of the roots of bullying behaviors, and conversely the roots of positive pro-social skills, can likely be found in adverse and positive experiences during early childhood, yet the research literature on these connections is limited. The early childhood field lacks a coherent, theoretical model that identifies the factors contributing to "mean" or aggressive behavior in young children, and establishes the developmental link between this early behavior and later bullying behavior. This white paper summarizes the literature on seven key hypotheses about the roots of bullying behavior in early childhood experiences