Differential effects of the KiVa anti-bullying program on popular and unpopular bullies

Promoting Positive Leadership: Examining the Long-Term Dynamics of Anti-Bullying Programs

Anti-bullying programs can create more positive classroom environments by fostering the development of positive leaders who establish constructive norms. The social identity theory of leadership addresses stability and change within different leader profiles and identifies leader group prototypicality: the extent to which leaders are perceived to embody the group identity, including standards, values, and norms. This study focuses on two key areas: (1) examining stability and change within positive and negative leader profiles, and (2) comparing transition probabilities between the KiVa anti-bullying intervention condition and a control condition. A sample of 6,629 children (2057 in the control condition and 4572 in the intervention condition) were followed from age 9 to age 11 in three waves of data collection. At each wave, latent profile analysis was used to identify two distinct leader profiles and three non-leader profiles based on peer nominations that included leadership, popularity, and both positive (defending) and negative (bullying) behavior. These profiles included (a) positive leaders, (b) negative leaders, (c) defenders, (d) bullies, and (e) modal children. Latent transition analysis for the full sample revealed more changing roles for negative leaders compared with positive leaders. In the intervention condition, negative leaders were more likely to make the transition to positive leaders than to bullies. This study shows that, in late childhood, positive leaders are perceived as more representative of the group leader prototypicality than negative leaders. These findings enhance understanding of leader profile evolution and may inform tailored leadership interventions.

Admitting to bullying others or denying it: Differences in children's psychosocial adjustment and implications for intervention

This study examined whether, for bullying perpetrators, admitting to their behavior was associated with specific psychosocial characteristics, and whether it predicted decreases in bullying behavior and a higher responsiveness to a successful anti-bullying program after 9 months of implementation. It also investigated whether participation in an anti-bullying program deterred admitting to the behavior. At pretest, our sample included 5,908 children and early adolescents (M age: 11.2 years) in 39 intervention and 38 control schools; among them, 1,304 were peer-identified bullying perpetrators (scoring higher or equal to 0.5 SD above the same-sex classroom mean). Regression analyses indicated that peer-identified bullying perpetrators who admitted to their behavior were more likely to suffer from internalizing problems and reported lower anti-bullying attitudes than those who did not admit to bullying others. There was no significant main effect of admitting to bullying on changes in peer-reported bullying 1 year later. However, in control schools only, those who admitted to bullying at pretest were more likely to continue bullying a year later than those who denied it. There was no evidence that participating in the anti-bullying program made it less likely for peer-identified bullying perpetrators to admit to their behavior.

KiVa anti-bullying program: preventing bullying and reducing Bulling Behavior among students - a scoping review

Bullying is a serious problem among adolescents that often occurs in schools. The problem occurs because of the high level of bullying behavior. Bullying causes negative impacts such as anxiety, low self-esteem, and suicide risk. So that interventions are needed to prevent and reduce bullying behavior. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness and implementation methods of the KiVa anti-bullying program for preventing and reducing bullying behavior for students. Scoping review design was used in this study using PRISMA Extension for Scoping Review search strategy. A scoping review of studies indexed in CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus databases was conducted. After duplicates were removed and articles screened, 11 studies were included in the review. Data analysis in this study used descriptive qualitative. The 11 included studies comprised of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies involving range of samples from 1051 to 23.520 respondents from elementary school to high school students aged 6-15 years. The KiVa Anti-bullying intervention was effective for reducing bullying behavior in students (p value < 0.05). This intervention involves teachers, government, students, and health workers to collaborate in building a bullying prevention system. The activities carried out are providing education, assertive and empathy training, role play, counseling, and games. The method in implementing the intervention is online and offline. This therapy can be optimized by providing special interventions to victims, perpetrators, and both. The provision of interventions also needs to be carried out and monitored regularly to prevent repeated bullying behavior in students. The development of online interventions is needed to prevent bullying in students so that it can reach students widely.

Effectiveness of the KiVa anti-bullying program in the Czech Republic: A cluster randomized control trial

AIMS

One of the most widely used evidence-based anti-bullying programs, KiVa, originates from Finland and aims to change students' peer context, activate teachers, and inform parents with two main components (universal preventive actions and indicated actions when bullying occurs), complemented by monitoring. Because research documented somewhat varied KiVa outcomes in different countries and because there is a lack of research focusing solely on the effectiveness of the universal and indicated actions, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of KiVa main components when implemented in a new country. This two-arm parallel cluster randomized control trial (RCT) evaluated the effectiveness of the KiVa anti-bullying program in elementary schools in the Czech Republic. It examined the effects of the universal and indicated actions on self-reported bullying and victimization as primary outcomes and well-being as a secondary outcome, while keeping monitoring constant across the intervention and control schools. The study also examined the role of implementation fidelity on the proposed outcomes.

METHODS

Schools were allocated via stratified randomization into a KiVa intervention group (12 schools, 35 classes, N = 407 students) or a wait-list control group (12 schools, 32 classes, N = 400 students). The study employed data from baseline and post-measurement waves, which were 10 months apart.

RESULTS

The data were analyzed using linear mixed effects models, which showed no significant intervention or fidelity effects for bullying, victimization, and well-being. However, promising trends (at α < .10) were revealed, such as lower levels of bullying observed in the intervention group and in schools with high implementation fidelity. Additional analysis using Bayes factors supported these promising trends and provided moderate support for lower levels of victimization in the intervention group compared to the control schools.

CONCLUSIONS

Evaluation of effectiveness of anti-bullying programs could benefit from a more targeted fidelity assessment at the classroom or individual level and from distinguishing between the effects of the main components of the programs and the effects of monitoring. The promising yet non-significant intervention and fidelity effects suggest that schools may require enhanced support and longer implementation time frames than a single school year, especially when implementation faces structural obstacles, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Heterogeneity of adolescent bullying perpetrators: Subtypes based on victimization and peer status

We identified different types of adolescent bullying perpetrators and nonbullies based on peer-reported bullying, victimization, and peer status (popularity, likeability, and rejection) and examined differences between bully subtypes in typical forms of bullying perpetrated. Moreover, we studied how bully subtypes differed from nonbullies with varying levels of victimization and peer status in academic and psychosocial adjustment. The study utilizes data from 10,689 adolescents (48.3% boys, mean age 14.7 years). Latent profile analysis identified three distinct subgroups of bullies: popular-liked bullies (13.5%), popular-rejected bully-victims (5.8%), and bully-victims (6.9%), and four groups on nonbullies. High-status bullies (popular-liked and popular-rejected) resembled nonbullies in many ways and had even lower social anxiety, whereas bully-victims were the most maladjusted group. Overall, popularity seems to protect adolescents from social anxiety, and victimization is related to internalizing problems. Results suggest that bullying, victimization, and peer status can be used to identify distinct subtypes of bullies.

The Resilience Factor: Examining its Potential to Alleviate Shame and Guilt in School Bullying

School violence, in particular bullying by peers, has become a problem on the public agenda. In the context of bullying, children exposed report high levels of shame and guilt which increase victimization since involves a humiliating experience associated with the lack of acceptance by the peer group and can negatively affect mental health. Both emotions have been previously studied in peer violence context. Now we aim to examine resilience as a potential factor to alleviate shame and guilt in school bullying. We conducted a study to test if resilience mediates the feeling of shame and guilt effect of being exposed to bullying; that is, if resilience entails protective behaviors that favour the dissipation of the risk of feeling shame and guilt when exposed to direct violence in school. First, we adapted to Mexican Spanish the research instrument Short Version of the State Shame and Guilt Scale (SSGS-8, Cavalera et al., 2017)-; then we conducted a quantitative, explanatory, cross-sectional approach study; both were carried out in two different non-urban high schools near the city of Monterrey, Mexico, randomizing groups. We found through a moderated mediation analysis that resilience is a key piece to transform shame and practically alleviate negative school violence consequences the indirect effect of resilience on the relationship between direct violence in school and shame was moderated by gender, better for boys than for girls. As its presence restrain shame in those who have been exposed to direct violence in school, it is important to strengthen resilience in adolescents. Promoting the development of shame resilience in adolescents is crucial to prevent them from questioning whether something is wrong with them when exposed to violence. We must continue making efforts to eradicate violence in schools through prevention programs and public policies.

Risk patterns of bullying perpetration and victimization among children

OBJECTIVES

This study uses the bioecological model of human development and person-centered methods to describe the underlying patterns of risk and their association with bullying perpetration and victimization among U.S. children.

METHODS

Using the National Survey of Children's Health, this study (n = 7319) explored the underlying patterns of risks across six domains (i.e., individual, family, school, neighborhood, economic, and socio-cultural) associated with bullying perpetration and victimization among U.S. elementary school children.

RESULTS

Latent Class Analysis uncovered four patterns of risks. The low risks group (72.4%) showed the lowest rates of bullying perpetration (24.6%) and victimization (57.2%). The individual and environmental risks group (15.3%) presented moderate levels of bullying perpetration (31.8%) and victimization (67.1%). The family risks group (8.3%) showed moderate levels of bullying perpetration (35.9%) and victimization (66.0%). High risks group (4.0%) presented exceptionally high rates of bullying perpetration (59.1%) and victimization (87.3%).

CONCLUSION

Results suggest rates of bullying perpetration and victimization differed across the four patterns of risks. Understanding the sources of risk may be critical to alleviate bullying perpetration and victimization among children.

IMPLICATION

Findings suggest that child bullying should be approached with customized treatment considering their pattern of risk exposure.

What Works for Whom in School-Based Anti-bullying Interventions? An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis

The prevalence of bullying worldwide is high (UNESCO, 2018). Over the past decades, many anti-bullying interventions have been developed to remediate this problem. However, we lack insight into for whom these interventions work and what individual intervention components drive the total intervention effects. We conducted a large-scale individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis using data from 39,793 children and adolescents aged five to 20 years (Mage = 12.58, SD = 2.34) who had participated in quasi-experimental or randomized controlled trials of school-based anti-bullying interventions (i.e., 10 studies testing nine interventions). Multilevel logistic regression analyses showed that anti-bullying interventions significantly reduced self-reported victimization (d =  - 0.14) and bullying perpetration (d =  - 0.07). Anti-bullying interventions more strongly reduced bullying perpetration in younger participants (i.e., under age 12) and victimization for youth who were more heavily victimized before the intervention. We did not find evidence to show that the inclusion of specific intervention components was related to higher overall intervention effects, except for an iatrogenic effect of non-punitive disciplinary methods-which was strongest for girls. Exploratory analyses suggested that school assemblies and playground supervision may have harmful effects for some, increasing bullying perpetration in youth who already bullied frequently at baseline. In conclusion, school-based anti-bullying interventions are generally effective and work especially well for younger children and youth who are most heavily victimized. Further tailoring of interventions may be necessary to more effectively meet the needs and strengths of specific subgroups of children and adolescents.

The effectiveness of the Dutch Meaningful Roles program in children: a study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND

A positive, prosocial classroom climate is associated with improved social competence and academic achievement, as well as with decreased internalizing problems and antisocial behavior in children. It is expected that motivation to behave prosocially is needed to achieve a prosocial climate in the classroom, and that such motivation can be enhanced through three components of self-determination theory (SDT): competence, relatedness, and autonomy. The goal of this protocol is to describe the design of a study aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a classroom-based program based on SDT components promoting a prosocial classroom climate.

METHODS

A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to examine the effectiveness of the classroom-based program Meaningful Roles, aiming to improve prosocial classroom climate through increasing children's intrinsic prosocial motivation, stimulated by increasing social autonomy, social competence, and social relatedness. A multi-informant (i.e., children, teachers, and school leaders) and multi-method (i.e., questionnaires and focus groups) approach will be used to assess primary outcomes (i.e., prosocial behavior, intrinsic (prosocial) motivation, social autonomy, social competence, and social relatedness) and secondary outcomes (i.e., school wellbeing, social position, bullying, victimization, and civic skills), as well as moderators (i.e., working elements, child, teacher, school, and program characteristics, and program integrity).

DISCUSSION

The current study will provide information on the effectiveness of a classroom-based program promoting a prosocial classroom climate. It is of crucial importance that the school environment can provide a positive, prosocial classroom climate in which children feel safe and can achieve optimal social and academic competence and wellbeing.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials ( NCT05891067 ).

Bullying and the Abuse of Power

Dan Olweus pioneered research on school bullying and identified the importance of, and risk factors associated with, bullying and victimization. In this paper, we conduct a narrative review of the critical notion of power within bullying. Specifically, we discuss Olweus's definition of bullying and the role of a power imbalance in distinguishing bullying behavior from other forms of aggression. Next, we discuss the changing nature of research on aggression (and the adaptiveness of aggression) throughout the years, the important role of power in these changes, and how the concept of power in relationships has helped elucidate the developmental origins of bullying. We discuss bullying interventions and the potential opportunities for interventions to reduce bullying by making conditions for bullying less favorable and beneficial. Finally, we discuss bullying and the abuse of power that extends beyond the school context and emerges within families, workplaces, and governments. By recognizing and defining school bullying as an abuse of power and a violation of human rights, Olweus has laid the foundation and created the impetus for researching and addressing bullying. This review highlights the importance of examining abuses of power not only in school relationships, but across human relationships and society in general.

Interventions That Failed: Factors Associated with the Continuation of Bullying After a Targeted Intervention

We examined how often teachers' targeted interventions fail in stopping bullying and to what extent this varies between schools vs. between students involved. In addition, we investigated which student-level factors were associated with intervention failure. Data were collected annually in 2011-2016 via online questionnaires and included responses from students in 2107 Finnish primary and secondary schools implementing the KiVa antibullying program. During the years of the study, 27% of the 57,835 students who were victims in the cases of bullying addressed by adults reported no improvement in their situation. Among the 44,918 bullying perpetrators who were targeted by an intervention, 21% said they did not bully less as a result. Intervention failures were mostly due to differences between individuals: only 3-12% of the total variance in continued victimization and bullying was due to between-school differences. According to two-level logistic regression results, victim-perceived failure was more likely when the victimized student was in higher grades, had been victimized more frequently and, for a longer time, had been victimized also online, had bullied others, and had fewer friends in the class. Bully-perceived failure was more likely when the bullying student was in higher grades, bullied more frequently, and was victimized. Finally, the bullying students' antibullying attitudes and their perception of teacher's and parents' antibullying attitudes were negatively associated with failure of the intervention.

Dublin Anti-Bullying Self-Efficacy Models and Scales: Development and Validation

Literature on anti-bullying programs shows a growing consensus about promoting victims and bystanders' self-efficacy against bullying, but provides no theoretical model nor measurement scale to assess the extent of achieving this aim. The current research aims to address these theoretical and empirical gaps by proposing the Dublin Anti-Bullying Self-Efficacy Models and Scales, using a convenience sample of 14-year-old students in Ireland (N = 1,100). After establishing both content and face validity, four separate scales were tested to measure anti-bullying self-efficacy beliefs among offline victims (20-item), online victims (20-item), offline bystanders (20-item), and online bystanders (20-item). Thereafter, four separate exploratory factor analyses of the scale items were followed by reflective measurement analyses of their internal consistency and construct (convergent and discriminant) validity. Results indicated sufficient psychometric properties of each scale measuring five dimensions of anti-bullying self-efficacy: recognition, emergency comprehension, responsibility, knowledge, and intervention. Further research is needed to test the proposed model and scale for assessing effectiveness of an anti-bullying program in promoting self-efficacy beliefs.

Consequences of Victimization on Perceived Friend Support during Adolescence

Victimization can harm youth in various ways and negatively affect their friendships with peers. Nevertheless, not all victimized youth are impacted similarly, and the literature is unclear regarding why some victims are more likely than others to experience friendship-based consequences. Using five waves of data on 901 adolescents (6th grade at wave 1; 47% male; 88% White) and a subsample of 492 victimized youth, this study assessed (1) whether victimization leads to decreases in perceived friend support, and (2) the factors that explain which victimized youth are most likely to experience decreases in perceived friend support. Explanatory factors included subsequent victimization, victims' social network status (self-reported number of friends, number of friendship nominations received), and victims' risky behaviors (affiliating with deviant friends, delinquency, aggression, binge drinking). Random effects regressions revealed that, among the full sample, victimization was linked to decreases in friend support. Among victimized youth, subsequent victimization and deviant friends decreased friend support. Having more friends was associated with increased friend support among victims, though this association weakened as the number of friends increased. The results emphasize that victimized youth are a heterogeneous group with varying risks of experiencing friendship-based consequences.

Bullying perpetration and victimization associations to suicide behavior: a longitudinal study

Previous studies have reported a longitudinal association between cybervictimization and suicidal thoughts and behavior. However, the relationship between cyber-perpetration and prospective suicide risk remains unclear. The sample was composed of 2150 at-risk adolescents (mean age 15.42), enrolled in Vocational Education and Training high schools in Israel. Cyberbullying, traditional bullying, depression, hostility, serious suicidal ideations, and suicide attempts were assessed through self-report questionnaires at the beginning of the school year and one year later. All types of victimization and preparation were cross-sectionally associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Longitudinal associations were found between cyber-perpetration and suicidal ideation/attempts. Cyber-perpetrators were found to be over twice more likely to report serious suicidal ideation (OR = 2.04) or attempt suicide (OR = 2.64) in the subsequent year compared to noninvolved adolescents. These associations were significant even after adjusting for baseline depression, hostility, and traditional bullying. Traditional bullying perpetration was prospectively associated with suicide attempts. Traditional victimization was cross-sectionally associated with suicide ideation and attempts but not prospectively. Cybervictimization was prospectively associated with suicide ideation but not to suicide attempts. The findings demonstrate the prospective risk of involvement in bullying in regard to suicide ideation and behavior. Cyberbullying was found to be a somewhat differentiated phenomena from traditional bullying.

Differences in Aggression and Alcohol Use among Youth with Varying Levels of Victimization and Popularity Status

Awareness that high-status adolescents can be targets of aggression has grown in recent years. However, questions remain about the associations of the confluence of victimization and popularity with adjustment. The current study fills this gap by examining the joint and unique effects of victimization and popularity on aggression and alcohol use. Participants were 804 Dutch adolescents (50.2% boys, M_age = 13.65) who were followed for one year. High-status victims were more aggressive and drank more alcohol than lower-status victims. High-status victims were also more proactively and indirectly aggressive and self-reported more bullying than high-status non-victims. Thus, the findings demonstrated a conjoined risk of victimization and popularity for some types of aggression.

Evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions: Differentiating competitive, impression management, sadistic and reactive motives

This study investigated early adolescents' (ages 9-14; M = 11.91) self-reported, evolutionarily relevant motives for using aggression, including competitive, impression management, sadistic, and reactive functions, and examined differential relations with a range of psychosocial characteristics. As expected, competitive functions were associated with aggression and victimization in which the perpetrator had equal or less power than the victim, in line with the view that these are aversive and appetitive motives related to competition with rivals. Impression management and sadistic functions were associated with bullying and coercive resource control strategies (the latter for boys only), consistent with expectations that these are appetitive motives, with the former being more goal-directed and the latter somewhat more impulsive. Finally, as hypothesized, reactive functions were associated with emotional symptoms, hostility, victimization by bullying, and aggression by perpetrators with equal or less power than the victim, consistent with theory and research conceptualizing reactive aggression as an impulsive, emotion-driven response to provocation. The benefits of studying a wide range of evolutionarily relevant aggressive functions are discussed.

Intention to Stop Bullying following a Condemning, Empathy-Raising, or Combined Message from a Teacher – Do Students’ Empathy and Callous-Unemotional Traits Matter?

Knowing which intervention strategies work best and for which student is essential for teachers when they intervene in cases of bullying. The effects of teachers’ (1) condemning, (2) empathy-raising, and (3) combined (including elements of both) messages on students’ intention to stop bullying were tested in a between-subject experimental design. A total of 277 seventh grade students (Mage = 12.93, SD = 0.49; 47% female) were asked to imagine they had bullied a peer and were invited to a discussion with a teacher. They saw a video vignette with one of the above messages. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that students’ intention to stop bullying was highest among those who saw the combined message. Callous-unemotional traits were negatively, and affective and cognitive empathy positively associated with intention to stop bullying. Students’ level of cognitive empathy moderated the relative effect of the condemning message on intention to stop bullying. At low levels of cognitive empathy, the condemning message was the least effective, whereas among those with high cognitive empathy, all messages were equally likely to lead to intention to stop bullying. Together, the findings suggest that for educators intervening in bullying among adolescents, an approach involving both condemning and empathy-raising messages is the ‘best bet’, most likely to lead to intention to stop bullying.

Empirical and theoretical foundations of family interventions to reduce the incidence and mental health impacts of school bullying victimization

Bullying victimisation is a serious risk factor for mental health problems in children and adolescents. School bullying prevention programs have consistently produced small to moderate reductions in victimisation and perpetration. However, these programs do not necessarily help all students affected by bullying. Paradoxically whole-school programs lead to higher levels of depression and poorer self-esteem for students who continue to be victimised after program implementation. This may be because some elements of whole-school programs make victims more visible to their peers, thus further eroding their peer social status. Three main identified risk factors for children and adolescents who continue to be victimised following school bullying prevention programs are peer rejection, internalising problems, and lower quality parent-child relationships. All are potentially modifiable through family interventions. A large body of research demonstrates the influence of families on children's social skills, peer relationships and emotional regulation. This paper describes the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence for reducing the incidence and mental health outcomes of school bullying victimisation through family interventions. Family interventions should be available to complement school efforts to reduce bullying and improve the mental health of young people.

Bullying Prevention in Adolescence: Solutions and New Challenges from the Past Decade

Bullying among youth at school continues to be a global challenge. Being exposed to bullying may be especially hurtful in adolescence, a vulnerable period during which both peer group belonging and status become key concerns. In the current review, we first summarize the effectiveness of the solutions that were offered a decade ago in the form of anti-bullying programs. We proceed by highlighting some intriguing challenges concomitant to, or emerging from these solutions, focusing especially on their relevance during adolescence. These challenges are related to (1) the relatively weak, and highly variable effects of anti-bullying programs, (2) the complex associations among bullying, victimization, and social status, (3) the questions raised regarding the beneficial (or possibly iatrogenic) effects of peer defending, and (4) the healthy context paradox, that is, the phenomenon of remaining or emerging victims being worse off in contexts where the average levels of victimization decrease. We end by providing some suggestions for the next decade of research in the area of bullying prevention among adolescents.

A Large-Scale Replication of the Effectiveness of the KiVa Antibullying Program: a Randomized Controlled Trial in the Netherlands

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program in the Netherlands through a randomized controlled trial of students in grades 3-4 (Dutch grades 5-6). The sample involved 98 schools who volunteered to participate in the research, with 245 classes and 4383 students at the baseline (49% girls; M age = 8.7 years), who participated in five measurement waves, collected in three consecutive school years. After the baseline, two-thirds of the schools were assigned to the intervention condition (KiVa or KiVa+, the latter included an additional intervention component of network feedback to teachers) and one-third to the control condition (waiting list, care as usual) with a stratified randomization procedure. The effects of the intervention on self-reported victimization and bullying were tested using cross-classified ordered multinomial models and binomial logistic regression models. These longitudinal models showed that self-reported victimization and bullying reduced more strongly in KiVa-schools compared with control schools, with stronger effects after two school years than after one school year of implementation. The results showed that for students in control schools, the odds of being a victim were 1.29-1.63 higher, and the odds of being a bully were 1.19-1.66 higher than for KiVa students. No significant differences between KiVa and KiVa+ emerged. Overall, the findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of the KiVa program in the Netherlands.

Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying perpetration and victimization: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Bullying first emerged as an important topic of research in the 1980s in Norway (Olweus), and a recent meta-analysis shows that these forms of aggression remain prevalent among young people globally (Modecki et al.). Prominent researchers in the field have defined bullying as any aggressive behavior that incorporates three key elements, namely: (1) an intention to harm, (2) repetitive in nature, and (3) a clear power imbalance between perpetrator and victim (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Farrington). There are many negative outcomes associated with bullying perpetration, such as: suicidal ideation (Holt et al.), weapon carrying (Valdebenito et al.), drug use (Ttofi et al.), and violence and offending in later life (Ttofi et al.). Bullying victimization too is associated with negative outcomes such as: suicidal ideation (Holt et al.), anxiety, low self-esteem and loneliness (Hawker& Boulton). Therefore, school bullying is an important target for effective intervention, and should be considered a matter of public health concern.

Objectives

The objective of this review is to establish whether or not existing school-based antibullying programs are effective in reducing school-bullyng behaviors. This report also updates a previous meta-analysis conducted by Farrington and Ttofi. This earlier review found that antibullying programs are effective in reducing bullying perpetration and victimization and a primary objective of the current report is to update the earlier analysis of 53 evaluations by conducting new searches for evaluations conducted and published since 2009.

Search Methods

Systematic searches were conducted using Boolean combinations of the following keywords: bully*; victim*; bully-victim; school; intervention; prevention; program*; evaluation; effect*; and anti-bullying. Searches were conducted on several online databases including, Web of Science, PscyhINFO, EMBASE, EMBASE, DARE, ERIC, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Databases of unpublished reports, such as masters' and doctoral theses (e.g., Proquest) were also searched.

Selection Criteria

Results from systematic searches were screened thoroughly against the following inclusion criteria. To be included in this review, a study must have: (1) described an evaluation of a school-based antibullying program implemented with school-age participants; (2) utilized an operational definition of school-bullying that coincides with existing definitions; (3) measured school-bullying perpetration and/or victimization using quantitative measures, such as, self-, peer-, or teacher-report questionnaires; and (4) used an experimental or quasi-experimental design, with one group receiving the intervention and another not receiving the intervention.

Data Collection and Analysis

Of the 19,877 search results, 474 were retained for further screening. The majority of these were excluded, and after multiple waves of screening, 100 evaluations were included in our meta-analysis. A total of 103 independent effect sizes were estimated and each effect size was corrected for the impact of including clusters in evaluation designs. Included evaluations were conducted using both randomized (n = 45; i.e., randomized controlled trials/RCTs) and nonrandomized (n = 44; i.e., quasi-experimental designs with before/after measures; BA/EC) methodologies. All of these studies included measures of bullying outcomes before and after implementation of an intervention. The remaining 14 effect sizes were estimated from evaluations that used age cohort designs. Two models of meta-analysis are used to report results in our report. All mean effects computed are presented using both the multivariance adjustment model (MVA) and random effects model (RE). The MVA model assigns weights to primary studies in direct proportion to study level sampling error as with the fixed effects model but adjusts the meta-analytic standard error and confidence intervals for study heterogeneity. The RE model incorporates between-study heterogeneity into the formula for assigning weights to primary studies. The differences and strengths/limitations of both approaches are discussed in the context of the present data.

Results

Our meta-analysis identified that bullying programs significantly reduce bullying perpetration (RE: odds ratio [OR] = 1.309; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24-1.38; z = 9.88; p < .001) and bullying victimization (RE: OR = 1.244; 95% CI: 1.19-1.31; z = 8.92; p < .001), under a random effects model of meta-analysis. Mean effects were similar across both models of meta-analysis for bullying perpetration (i.e., MVA: OR = 1,324; 95% CI: 1.27-1.38; z = 13.4; p < .001) and bullying victimization (i.e., MVA: OR = 1.248; 95% CI: 1.21-1.29; z = 12.06; p < .001). Under both computational models, primary studies were more effective in reducing bullying perpetration than victimization overall. Effect sizes varied across studies, with significant heterogeneity between studies for both bullying perpetration (Q = 323.392; df = 85; p < .001; I 2  = 73.716) and bullying victimization (Q = 387.255; df = 87; p < .001; I 2  = 77.534) outcomes. Analyses suggest that publication bias is unlikely. Between-study heterogeneity was expected, given the large number of studies included, and thus, the number of different programs, methods, measures and samples used.

Authors' Conclusions

We conclude that overall, school-based antibullying programs are effective in reducing bullying perpetration and bullying victimization, although effect sizes are modest. The impact of evaluation methodology on effect size appears to be weak and does not adequately explain the significant heterogeneity between primary studies. Moreover, the issue of the under-/over-estimation of the true treatment effect by different experimental designs and use of self-reported measures is reviewed. The potential explanations for this are discussed, along with recommendations for future primary evaluations. Avenues for future research are discussed, including the need further explain differences across programs by correlating individual effect sizes with varying program components and varying methodological elements available across these 100 evaluations. Initial findings in the variability of effect sizes across different methodological moderators provide some understanding on the issue of heterogeneity, but future analyses based on further moderator variables are needed.

Effects of the KiVa Anti-Bullying Program on Affective and Cognitive Empathy in Children and Adolescents

Objective: As empathy is an important predictor of both bullying and defending behavior, many anti-bullying interventions aim to increase empathy among students. However, little is known on whether these interventions enhance both affective and cognitive empathy, and whether some students are more responsive than others to empathy-raising efforts. This study examined the effects of the Finnish anti-bullying program KiVa on changes in self-reported affective and cognitive empathy and tested whether these effects varied depending on students' gender, initial levels of empathy, peer-reported bullying, and peer-perceived popularity, as well as school type (primary versus secondary school) and classroom bullying norms.Method: Multilevel structural equation modeling analyses were conducted on pretest and posttest (1 year later) data from a sample of 15,403 children and adolescents (Mage = 13.4; 51.5% girls) in 399 control and 462 intervention classrooms from 140 schools participating in the evaluation of KiVa in 2007-2009.Results: KiVa had a positive effect on affective empathy, but not cognitive empathy. The effects of the program on both types of empathy did not depend on students' gender, initial levels of empathy, bullying, or popularity, nor on school type or classroom bullying norms.Conclusion: Findings suggest that KiVa can raise students' affective empathy regardless of students' gender, status, initial empathy, or levels of bullying, and regardless of school type or classroom bullying norms.

Prospective Associations between Popularity, Victimization, and Aggression in Early Adolescence

Recent research has highlighted an understudied phenomenon in the peer victimization literature thus far: the overlap between high status (i.e., popularity) and victimization. However, the research on this phenomenon has primarily been cross-sectional. The current investigation uses a longitudinal design to address two questions related to high-status victims. First, the present study examined prospective associations between popularity and two forms of indirect victimization (reputational victimization and exclusion). Second, this study examined elevated aggression as a consequence of high-status youth’s victimization (using self- and peer- reports of victimization). Participants were 370 adolescents (M_age = 14.44, range = 14.00–16.00; 56.5% girls) who were followed for 1 year. Both high and low levels of popularity were prospectively associated with reputational victimization. Moreover, popularity moderated the association between self-reported indirect victimization (but not peer-reported indirect victimization) and aggression. The results help build toward a more comprehensive understanding of both victimization and aggression in adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for a cycle of aggression in youth and the lowered effectiveness of bullying interventions in adolescence.

How can schools be integrated in promoting well-being, preventing mental health problems and averting substance-use disorders in urban populations?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Mental health and substance use problems are among the most prevalent and challenging problems faced by both high-income and low-income countries worldwide. This review will focus on summarizing scattered evidence of school-based interventions to promote well-being and prevent mental health problems and substance use disorders in children and adolescents.

RECENT FINDINGS

We focus on two main areas of research: promotion of healthy school climate and prevention of bullying. Choosing among available interventions might be challenging, both because of the difficulties in assessing their efficacy and tailoring interventions to specific needs, but also because of the scarcity of intervention in low-resource settings. We provide some guidance on principles encompassed by the available evidence that can be used for policymakers and local communities aiming to integrate mental health promotion and prevention into their schools.

SUMMARY

Developing, implementing, scaling and sustaining school-based interventions is a necessity of our field if we want to move closer to sustainable development goals.

Classroom bullying norms and peer status: Effects on victim-oriented and bully-oriented defending

Defending a victimized peer is a socially risky behavior that may require high peer status and may depend on how popular or disliked bullies are in the classroom (i.e., within-classroom correlations between bullying and status). Past research has investigated defending as a unidimensional construct, though it can involve confronting the bully (bully-oriented defending) or supporting the victim (victim-oriented defending). This study used multilevel modeling to examine the effects of individual peer status, gender, and bullying as well as two indicators of classroom norms—the bullying-popularity norm and the bullying-rejection norm—on both types of defending. Our sample included 1,460 Dutch adolescents (50% girls; M age 11 years) from 59 classrooms in 50 schools. Likability and popularity were positively associated with both types of defending. Being female and lower in bullying was associated with victim-oriented defending, whereas being male and higher in bullying was associated with bully-oriented defending. In classrooms where bullies were more rejected, both types of defending were more prevalent, and the positive associations of likability and popularity with victim-oriented defending were stronger. The positive effect of the bullying-rejection norm on victim-oriented defending was stronger for girls. Moreover, the effect of popularity on bully-oriented defending was stronger in classrooms where bullies were less popular.

Comparisons Between Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims on Perceived Popularity, Social Impact, and Social Preference

This study investigated the effect of bullying role, i.e., bully, victim, and bully-victim, on three measures of peer status; perceived popularity, social preference, and social impact. In addition to completing peer nominations for these measures of peer status, adolescents (n = 2,721) aged 11 to 16 years from 5 secondary schools completed an online survey that assessed bullying involvement (self- and peer-reported), self-esteem, and behavioral difficulties. Compared to uninvolved adolescents, all bullying roles had a greater social impact. Bullies scored higher than all other roles for perceived popularity, whereas victims and bully-victims were the lowest in social preference. These significant group comparisons remained when controlling for demographic variables, behavioral difficulties, self-esteem and prosocial behavior. Overall, the perceived popularity found for bullies suggests that these adolescents are socially rewarded by peers for their victimization of others. These findings highlight the need to address the whole peer system in raising the social status of those who are victimized, whilst reducing the rewards received by bullies for their behavior.

Why does decreased likeability not deter adolescent bullying perpetrators?

This study examines why the lower likeability of bullying perpetrators does not deter them from engaging in bullying behavior, by testing three hypotheses: (a) bullying perpetrators are unaware that they are disliked, (b) they value popularity more than they value likeability, (c) they think that they have nothing to lose in terms of likeability, as they believe that their targets and other classmates would dislike them anyway, regardless of their behavior. The first two hypotheses were examined in Study 1 (1,035 Dutch adolescents, M_age = 14.15) and the third hypothesis was examined in Study 2 (601 Dutch adolescents, M_age = 12.92). Results from regression analyses showed that those higher in bullying were not more likely to overestimate their likeability. However, they were more likely than others to find being popular more important than being liked. Moreover, those higher in bullying were more likely to endorse the belief that the victimized student or the other classmates would have disliked a bullying protagonist (in vignettes of hypothetical bullying incidents) before any bullying started. These findings suggest that adolescent bullying perpetrators may not be deterred by the costs of bullying in terms of likeability, possibly because they do not value likeability that much (Hypothesis 2), and because they believe they hardly have any likeability to lose (Hypothesis 3).

School Bullies' Intention to Change Behavior Following Teacher Interventions: Effects of Empathy Arousal, Condemning of Bullying, and Blaming of the Perpetrator

This study examines how bullies’ perceptions of how they were treated by a teacher (or other school personnel) during discussions aimed at putting an end to bullying influenced their intention to change their behavior. After each discussion, which took place as part of the implementation of an anti-bullying program, bullies anonymously reported the extent to which they felt that the teacher aroused their empathy for the victim, condemned their behavior, or blamed them. Half of the schools implementing the program were instructed to handle these discussions in a confrontational way—telling the bully that his behavior is not tolerated—while the other half were instructed to use a non-confronting approach. Schools were randomly assigned to one of the two approaches. A total of 341 cases (188 in primary and 153 in secondary schools) handled in 28 Finnish schools were analyzed. Regression analyses showed that attempts at making bullies feel empathy for the victim and condemning their behavior both increased bullies’ intention to stop. Blaming the bully had no significant effect. Bullies’ intention to change was the lowest when both empathy-arousal and condemning behavior were low. The effects of empathy arousal were stronger when condemning the behavior was low (and vice versa), suggesting that teachers tackling bullying should make sure to use at least one of these strategies. When choosing not to raise the child’s empathy, clear reprobation of the behavior is key.

Differences in the early stages of social information processing for adolescents involved in bullying

Bullying victimization has commonly been associated with deficiencies in social information processing (SIP). In contrast, findings regarding bullying perpetration are mixed, with some researchers claiming that bullies may have superior SIP abilities than victimized or uninvolved youth. This study investigated the effects of bullying and victimization on early SIP; specifically the recognition and interpretation of social information. In stage 1, 2,782 adolescents (11-16 years) were screened for bullying involvement, and in stage 2, 723 of these participants (mean age = 13.95) were assessed on measures of emotion recognition, hostile attribution bias, and characterological self-blame (CSB). No associations between bullying and early SIP were found. In contrast, victimization was associated with more hostile attribution bias and CSB attributions. Girls performed better than boys on the emotion recognition task while boys showed greater hostile attribution biases. No interaction effects of bullying or victimization with gender were found. Follow-up categorical analyses that considered pure victims versus victims who also bullied (bully-victims) on SIP, found a similar pattern of findings. These findings suggest that those who purely bully others are neither superior nor deficient in the early stages of SIP. Victimized adolescents, however, show biases in their interpretations of social situations and the intentions of others. These biases may lead to maladaptive responses and may increase risk for further victimization by peers.

Physical and relational bullying and victimization: Differential relations with adolescent dating and sexual behavior

Taking an evolutionary psychological perspective, we investigated whether involvement in bullying as a perpetrator or victim was more likely if adolescents reported having more dating and sexual partners than their peers, an indication of greater engagement in competition for mates. A total of 334 adolescents (173 boys, 160 girls) between the ages of 12 and 16 years (M = 13.6, SD = 1.3), recruited from community youth organizations, completed self-report measures of physical and relational bullying and victimization, as well as dating and sexual behavior. As predicted, pure physical bullying was positively associated with the number of dating and sexual partners, primarily for adolescent boys. Adolescent girls with more dating partners had greater odds of being relational bully-victims, in line with predictions. Finally, adolescent girls with more sexual partners were at greater risk of being physically victimized by peers, and greater involvement with dating and sexual partners was associated with higher odds of being a physical bully-victim. Results are discussed with respect to evolutionary theory and research in which adolescent boys may display strength and athleticism through physical bullying to facilitate intersexual selection, whereas relational bullying may be employed as a strategy to engage in intrasexual competition with rivals for mates. Aggr. Behav. 43:111-122, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Meaningful Roles Intervention: An Evolutionary Approach to Reducing Bullying and Increasing Prosocial Behavior

Bullying is a problem that affects adolescents worldwide. Efforts to prevent bullying have been moderately successful at best, or iatrogenic at worst. We offer an explanation for this limited success by employing an evolutionary-psychological perspective to analyze antibullying interventions. We argue that bullying is a goal-directed behavior that is sensitive to benefits as well as costs, and that interventions must address these benefits. This perspective led us to develop a novel antibullying intervention, Meaningful Roles, which offers bullies prosocial alternatives-meaningful roles and responsibilities implemented through a school jobs program and reinforced through peer-to-peer praise notes-that effectively meet the same status goals as bullying behavior. We describe this new intervention and how its theoretical evolutionary roots may be applicable to other intervention programs.

Adolescent Bullying, Dating, and Mating : Testing an Evolutionary Hypothesis

Traditionally believed to be the result of maladaptive development, bullying perpetration is increasingly being viewed as a potentially adaptive behavior. We were interested in determining whether adolescents who bully others enjoy a key evolutionary benefit: increased dating and mating (sexual) opportunities. This hypothesis was tested in two independent samples consisting of 334 adolescents and 144 university students. The data partly supported our prediction that bullying, but not victimization, would predict dating behavior. The data for sexual behavior more clearly supported our hypothesis that bullying behavior predicts an increase in sexual opportunities even when accounting for age, sex, and self-reports of attractiveness, likeability, and peer victimization. These results are generally congruent with the hypothesis that bullying perpetration is, at least in part, an evolutionary adaptive behavior.