Self-reporting discrepancies of bullying victimization and perpetration measures

The Effectiveness of Educational Interventions on Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

In consideration of the adverse societal, physical, and psychological impacts of bullying on a child's development and future, many studies have developed anti-bullying programs and educational interventions to curb bullying occurrences. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to examine the effectiveness of such educational interventions at reducing the frequencies of traditional bullying or cyberbullying and cybervictimization among adolescents. A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Google Scholar, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. Only quantitative studies that reported the effects of educational interventions on reducing the frequencies of traditional bullying or cyberbullying victimization and perpetration were included. Seventeen studies (N_total = 35,694 adolescents, Range_{child age} = 10-18 years) were finalized, and meta-analyses were conducted using a random effect model. Overall, the existing educational interventions had very small to small effect sizes on traditional bullying and cyberbullying perpetration (traditional: standardized mean differences [SMD] = -.30 and cyber: SMD = -.16) and victimization (traditional: SMD = -18 and cyber: SMD = -.13) among adolescents. Type of intervention (i.e., whole school-based or classroom-based), program duration, and presence of parental involvement did not moderate program effectiveness, but cyberbullying programs were more effective when delivered by technology-savvy content experts compared to teachers. Since existing educational interventions were marginally effective in reducing bullying frequencies, further research is needed to identify key moderators that enhance educational programs or develop alternative forms of anti-bullying interventions.

Food Allergy-Related Bullying Among Children and Adolescents

OBJECTIVE

Food allergy (FA) management requires youth to avoid allergens and carry emergency medication which can impact participation in social activities. Previous research indicates that some youth experience FA-related bullying, but many studies are limited by single-item assessment methods and a narrow definition of bullying. This study describes FA-related bullying among a diverse cohort of youth with FA and evaluates parent-child disagreement and bullying assessment methods.

METHODS

Youth ages 9-15 years (n = 121) diagnosed with an IgE-mediated FA and their primary caregivers were recruited from pediatric FA clinics to complete surveys about their FA-related bullying experiences. Descriptive statistics were conducted to assess overall FA-related bullying and McNemar tests were utilized to assess disagreement among parent-child report and between multi-item and single-item assessment methods.

RESULTS

Seventeen percent and 31% of youth reported FA-related bullying on single-item and multi-item assessments, respectively. Twelve percent of parents reported their child had experienced FA-related bullying. Youth reported overt physical (51%), overt non-physical (66%), and relational FA-related bullying (20%). FA-related bullying was most common among classmates. Assessment method significantly affected the rates of FA-related bullying reported by youth, and parents and youth only agreed on FA-bullying experiences when assessed via the single-item measure.

CONCLUSIONS

A subset of a diverse sample of youth with FA reported FA-related bullying. Clinicians should use multi-item assessment methods and ask both parents and children about their experiences to fully capture the experiences of families managing FA. School policies that facilitate FA safety and social inclusion should be promoted.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

N/A.

Meta-Representational Skills in Bullying Roles: The Influence of Definitional Competence and Empathy

This study investigated the influence of meta-representational aspects on bullying. Meta-representation was operationalized in terms of the metalinguistic skill to produce conventional definitions, reflecting culturally shared representations and of the meta-level capacity to represent others' mental states underlying empathic disposition. One hundred and seventeen children, aged between 8;5 and 10;11 years, completed a definitional task and self-report questionnaires on bullying roles and empathic disposition. Descriptive, correlational, and regression analyses were performed. Results confirmed that hostile roles are negatively related to definitional competence and to empathic disposition. Lack of definitional competence was the main predictor (accounting for about 16% of variance), followed by empathy (explaining a further 6% of variance) of Primary School children's disposition to assume aggressive behaviors. These findings suggest that a lack of general meta-representational abilities may hinder the development of abstract and other-centered perspective taking, and compromise (compromising) social adjustment. This implies the need to work, particularly in school, on enhancing meta-representational and metalinguistic skills, such as the ability to recognize mental states and verbally make explicit cultural-semantic word meaning representations.

Mutual Influences on Bullying Perpetration and Substance Use Among Adolescents in the United States

PURPOSE

Identifying temporal pattern of associations between bullying perpetration and substance use among youth is useful for optimal targeting of intervention and prevention. We examined the mutual influences on bullying perpetration and substance use and test the cumulative effects of bullying perpetration and substance use over time.

METHODS

We used data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health cohort study, a nationally representative sample of youth, on bullying perpetration and substance use at three points in time over 3 years. We analyzed the associations of bullying perpetration with alcohol, cannabis and cigarette use using binary logistic regressions. The 13,068 youths aged 12-17 years at baseline (2013-2014) were included in the analytical sample.

RESULTS

Cross-sectional associations between bullying perpetration and substance use were found at baseline (odds ratio [OR]_alcohol = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33-1.97; OR_marijuana = 1.28, 95% CI .99-1.66; OR_cigarette = 1.86, 95% CI 1.44-2.39). Cumulative episodic and frequent bullying perpetration over three data waves predicted an increased likelihood of substance use at follow-up (ORs between 1.18, 95% CI 1.02-1.36 and 2.13, 95% CI 1.66-2.74). Conversely, both episodic and frequent substance use predicted an increased probability of bullying others at follow-up (ORs between 1.50, 95% CI 1.20-1.86, and 2.10, 95% CI 1.69-2.61).

CONCLUSIONS

Associations between bullying perpetration and substance use appears to be bidirectional. In addition, episodic bullying perpetrators displayed intermediate levels of risk, suggesting a graded association between bullying perpetration pattern and substance use.

Bidirectional Association Between Bullying Perpetration and Internalizing Problems Among Youth

PURPOSE

Identification of the temporal pattern of associations between bullying perpetration and mental health problems among youth is needed for the optimal targeting of intervention and prevention. We examined the bidirectional association between bullying perpetration and internalizing problems among youth in the U.S.

METHODS

We used data from the prospective cohort study of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health waves 1 (September 12, 2013, to December 14, 2014) and 2 (October 23, 2014, to October 30, 2015), a nationally representative sample of youth. We analyzed the associations of bullying perpetration with internalizing problems using binary and multinomial logistic regressions. The 13,200 youths aged 12-17 years were included in the analytic sample.

RESULTS

There was a cross-sectional association between bullying perpetration and moderate/high lifetime internalizing problems (OR_{moderate vs. no/low} = 3.13, 95% CI 2.67-3.65; and OR_{high vs. no/low} = 8.77, 95% CI 7.53-10.20). In the prospective analyses, bullying perpetration was associated with increased likelihood of moderate/high internalizing problems at follow-up (OR_{moderate vs. no/low} = 1.49, 95% CI 1.15-1.94; and OR_{high vs. no/low} = 1.71, 95% CI 1.23-2.38), and youth with moderate/high internalizing problems had higher odds of bullying perpetration at follow-up (OR_moderate = 1.95, 95% CI 1.65-2.31; and OR_high = 3.21, 95% CI 2.74-3.76).

CONCLUSIONS

The association between bullying perpetration and internalizing problems appears to be bidirectional. Bullying behaviors prevention and intervention strategies among youth should consider how to take into account and handle negative feelings and mental health problems.