Bullying: An Age-Old Problem That Needs New Solutions

In recent years, bullying has begun to receive serious research attention within the scientific community, with the first systematic studies on bullying emerging in the 1970s by Norwegian researcher, Dan Olweus. Today, bullying is recognized as a worldwide issue for children and youth around the globe, and research on the topic increasing exponentially. Media attention to the tragic deaths of youth who were victims of bullying has raised public awareness in countries around the world, and our rapidly growing capacity for global communication has given rise to an unprecedented international exchange of information, as well as cross-national studies of the issue. Given such worldwide collaboration and attention, our understanding of the complexity and significance of the problem of school bullying has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Although questions still outnumber answers, we are beginning to unravel the many facets of bullying and victimization that our children are facing. With this knowledge, we are also beginning to find effective ways to reduce bullying. However, we still have much work to do to translate research knowledge into effective practice

A Social-Ecological Approach to Addressing Emotional and Behavioral Problems in Schools: Focusing on Group Processes and Social Dynamics

A substantial body of evidence verifies that social-emotional learning (SEL) can be effectively taught in schools and can reduce the prevalence and impact of emotional and behavioral problems (EBP) among children and youth. Although the positive effects of SEL on individual student’s emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes have been investigated in some detail in recent years, most studies have focused on evaluating programs aimed at directly training social and emotional competencies with a focus on the individual. Far less is known about the role of interpersonal group dynamics and systems functioning at the levels of the peer group, classroom, and school community. Drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Harris’s group socialization theory, this article reviews the literature on SEL and group dynamics to identify the ways in which existing SEL frameworks already encapsulate social group processes that contribute to the promotion of positive social-emotional development of children and youth. The goals of this contribution are twofold: (a) to document how EBP can be attenuated by addressing group-level processes that already exist within SEL practices and (b) to provide educators with specific SEL strategies to address group dynamics in their classrooms to optimize outcomes for all students, including students with EBP.</p

Bystander Responses to School Bullying: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Grade and Sex Differences

Addressing the impact of peer bystanders on school bullying, this cross-sectional study examined whether student responses to bullying that they witnessed varied as a function of sex and grade. In a school-based survey regarding social experiences at school, Grade 4 to 11 students (N = 9397, 51% male) who reported witnessing bullying (68%) rated how often they had engaged in different bystander responses. Results indicated significant differences across sex and grade level, such that younger students and girls were more likely to report taking positive action than were older students and boys by directly intervening, helping the victim, or talking to an adult. Generally, boys and girls were equally likely to report that they ignored or avoided the person(s) who bullied although reports that they did nothing increased with grade level. Implications for schoolwide antibullying intervention efforts are discussed.</p

Bystanders’ affect toward bully and victim as predictors of helping and non-helping behaviour.

The current study examined how children’s relationship with the bully and victim impacted their reactions as bystanders. An ethnically diverse sample of2,513 Canadian students in grades 4–7 responded to questions about their experiences of bullying, including the frequency with which they witnessed bullying at school. Approximately 89% of the sample reported witnessing bullying at school during the current school year. Subsequently, participants were asked to recall a specific bullying incident that they witnessed and describe: (1) their relationship with the bully and victim; (2) how they felt while witnessing; and (3) how they responded as a bystander. Compared to situations where they didn’t know the victim, bystanders were more likely to intervene directly (e.g., try to stop the bully, comfort the victim) if they liked the victim, and less likely to tell an adult if they disliked the victim.Aggressive intervention was more common if the witness didn’t like the bully, but also if they didn’t like the victim compared to if they didn’t know them. Regarding emotions, anger emerged as an especially powerful predictor of bystander defending, with youth being over five times more likely to try to stop the bullying or comfort the victim if they felt angry. Implications of these findings for the development of ecologically valid, anti-bullying interventions are discussed

Assessing Self-Concept in Children: Variations Across Self-Concept Domains

Multidimensional models of self, emphasizing variations in self-perceptions across areas of one\u27s life, have led to new, domain-specific self-report measures. Two of the most widely used multidimensional self-concept questionnaires were compared in Study 1 in a sample of 217 preadolescents. The two measures were highly correlated and comparable in reliability, stability, subsea Ie interrelations, and associations with others\u27 evaluations. In Study 2 a wider variety of self-assessments (interviews, questionnaires, self-ratings) across domains were compared in a sample of 161 preadolescents. Results indicated that the correspondence among different self-assessment approaches as well as between self and others\u27 perceptions varied as a function of the domain tapped. The observed domain variation may relate to the type of information children use to evaluate their competencies across domains

Addressing school bullying: Insights from theories of group processes.

In order to enhance efforts to address bullying in schools, and in response to the limited success of school-based anti-bullying programs to date, this paper considers bullying as a group phenomenon and explores theories of group processing that can inform future prevention and intervention efforts. Moving beyond efforts to reduce bullying by enhancing bystander responses, we consider research and theory addressing peer group socialization processes, the role of teachers as an "invisible hand" in structuring peer groups, social interdependence as applied to the design of cooperative learning environments, and collective efficacy. Although these theories are not in themselves developmental, and address group processes that operate across ages, they can inform both future prevention and intervention efforts and applied developmental research that explores the age-related contextual and individual factors that contribute to school bullying. </p

Children's comprehension of high- and low-interest material and a comparison of two cloze scoring methods

Bibliography: leaves 26-2

Understanding the Psychology of Bullying: Moving Toward a Social-Ecological Diathesis–Stress Model

With growing recognition that bullying is a complex phenomenon, influenced by multiple factors, research findings to date have been understood within a social-ecological framework. Consistent with this model, we review research on the known correlates and contributing factors in bullying/victimization within the individual, family, peer group, school and community. Recognizing the fluid and dynamic nature of involvement in bullying, we then expand on this model and consider research on the consequences of bullying involvement, as either victim or bully or both, and propose a social-ecological, diathesis– stress model for understanding the bullying dynamic and its impact. Specifically, we frame involvement in bullying as a stressful life event for both children who bully and those who are victimized, serving as a catalyst for a diathesis–stress connection between bullying, victimization, and psychosocial difficulties. Against this backdrop, we suggest that effective bullying prevention and intervention efforts must take into account the complexities of the human experience, addressing both individual characteristics and history of involvement in bullying, risk and protective factors, and the contexts in which bullying occurs, in order to promote healthier social relationships

Four Decades of Research on School Bullying: An Introduction

This article provides an introductory overview of findings from the past 40 years of research on bullying among school-aged children and youth. Research on definitional and assessment issues in studying bullying and victimization is reviewed, and data on prevalence rates, stability, and forms of bullying behavior are summarized, setting the stage for the 5 articles that comprise this American Psychologist special issue on bullying and victimization. These articles address bullying, victimization, psychological sequela and consequences, ethical, legal, and theoretical issues facing educators, researchers, and practitioners, and effective prevention and intervention efforts. The goal of this special issue is to provide psychologists with a comprehensive review that documents our current understanding of the complexity of bullying among school-aged youth and directions for future research and intervention efforts