School Climate and Bullying Bystander Responses in Middle and High School

Anti-Bullying Measures and Initiatives in an Online Setting: Educator Survey

The increased opportunities in virtual schooling offer new opportunities for students but also present new challenges for educators. As virtual enrollment has grown, concerns about student engagement, academic preparedness, and social risks have also grown. Among these concerns is the potential for bullying in online educational settings. While traditional bullying research has been well-documented, studies focusing on bullying within virtual schools remain limited. This study examines teachers' perceptions of bullying in online schools through a self-reported survey. A total sample of 97 educators from a virtual school was sampled, of which 91% were female. Findings indicate that while physical bullying is rare in the virtual setting, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying are reported by educators. Physical appearance, either body or clothing, was the most reported reason across all types of bullying. Educators reported feeling moderately prepared to identify and respond to these bullying behaviors, but gaps in training and awareness still exist. The study highlights the need for professional development, enhanced digital monitoring, and proactive bullying strategies to fit the virtual learning environment.

Adolescents' evaluations of peer and teacher unfair treatment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classes: Expected interventions

This study explores adolescents' evaluations of unfair teacher and peer behavior in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes. Participants included ninth and tenth grade students from five public schools in the Southeastern United States, (N = 577, 45.9% female, 49% male, 5% other/prefer not to say/unsure). Students were ethnically representative of their communities: 48% White/European American, 22.7% Black/African American, 14% Latino/a/e/x, and 15.3% multi-racial/other/prefer not to say. Measures assessed adolescents' responses to hypothetical scenarios of unfair treatment. The findings indicate that adolescents recognize both teacher and peer unfair behavior as wrong, with nuanced differences based on participants' gender and grade. Attribution analysis reveals varied expected reasons for unfair treatment. Responses to unfair behavior differ, with adolescents more likely to confront peers than teachers. Demographic factors, school climate, discrimination, belonging, and critical consciousness contribute to variations in judgments and responses. The study highlights the importance of addressing unfair treatment in STEM settings to foster inclusivity and support student persistence in STEM.

The Effectiveness of Interventions on Bullying and Cyberbullying Bystander: A Meta-Analysis

The role of bystanders in bullying and cyberbullying prevention is crucial. Strategies must be tailored to address the shared and unique factors in online and offline contexts, ensuring that interventions create an environment where bystanders are empowered and feel responsible to act against bullying and cyberbullying. This meta-analysis examines and compares the effectiveness of interventions in enhancing bystander behaviors in bullying and cyberbullying scenarios. A comprehensive search was conducted using databases including PsycINFO, Medline, Sociological Abstracts, Social Service Abstracts, ERIC, and Scopus. Quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials published before March 31, 2024 that reported that the effects of bystander interventions were included. The synthesis comprised 49 studies, reporting an overall random effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.25. The results highlight the crucial roles of enhancing knowledge, self-efficacy, and coping skills. Subgroup analysis revealed that the effective bystander interventions include smaller sample sizes (<100 participants), shorter durations (<1 month), targeting college students, and utilizing offline intervention approaches and digital techniques. These findings emphasize the promising effects and tailored characteristics of bystander intervention programs in bullying and cyberbullying contexts. Our review identifies avenues for future research within educational settings to develop more effective bystander behavior interventions to reduce bullying and cyberbullying.

School Bullying, Bystander Behavior, and Mental Health among Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Self-Efficacy and Coping Styles

While numerous studies have revealed the impact of different bullying behaviors, such as victimization and perpetration, on the psychological development of adolescents, the exploration of the correlates of positive/negative bystander behaviors and their potential underlying mechanisms remains scarce in China. The present study aims to compare the relationships between mental health and positive versus negative bystander behavior and to clarify whether self-efficacy and coping styles mediate the relationships between mental health and bullying dynamics. The current study was conducted on 11,734 students from 18 secondary schools in Suzhou, China (Meanage = 15.00, SDage = 1.47; 53.8% boys). The information on bullying victimization, perpetration, positive/negative bystander behaviors, as well as self-efficacy, coping styles and mental health variables (including depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, suicide risk), were collected. Negative bystander behavior was positively associated with mental health problems, while positive bystander behavior was negatively associated with these factors. Also, further analysis showed that coping styles and self-efficacy mediated the relationship between different bullying behaviors and mental health outcomes. The results highlighted the comparison of the correlates of positive and negative bystander behaviors, which were comparably crucial to those of victims and perpetrators for prevention and intervention efforts. Promoting adaptive coping styles and self-efficacy to buffer the deleterious psychological consequences of bullying behavior in adolescents was also important.

Intercultural Differences between Spain and Italy Regarding School Bullying, Gender, and Age

The objectives of this research were to establish the differences between Spain and Italy regarding the presence of bullying in primary and secondary schools, as well as to determine whether there are differences between experiencing or perpetrating bullying and gender and age in the practice of school bullying. To assess the EBIPQ scores in terms of country and gender, the chi-squared test was used, and ANOVA was applied for age. A total of 1536 students from primary and secondary schools in Spain and Italy participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 10 to 19 years (mean = 13.01, standard deviation = 2.19). The results revealed statistically significant differences in terms of bullying categories concerning the country of origin and gender, with a higher number of Italian participants in the role of "no victim aggress" and Spanish participants in the roles of "victim" and "victim and aggress". Additionally, there were more boys in the role of "victim and aggress" and girls in the role of "no victim aggress". Regarding age, statistically significant differences were found, with older students taking on the role of "aggress" on average, while younger students assumed the role of "victim".

How does the school built environment impact students' bullying behaviour? A scoping review

RATIONALE

School bullying is a public health concern affecting the physical and mental health of children and young people. While school-based interventions to prevent bullying have been developed internationally, the effectiveness of many interventions has been mixed and modest. Despite a growing recognition that the school built environment may impact bullying behaviour, few anti-bullying interventions have addressed the built environment.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic scoping review explored existing literature for evidence that the school built environment influences bullying behaviour in school students.

METHODS

The review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework for scoping reviews. A search of six databases (Medline, PsycINFO, ERIC, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus and The Cochrane Library) identified studies addressing primary, middle and secondary school students, bullying, school bullying locations, and school built environments. Peer-reviewed journal articles published in English prior to July 19, 2021, were included.

RESULTS

In total, 7568 documents were screened by title and abstract. Following a full-text review, 61 studies (63 articles) were selected; 43 studies identified school bullying locations, and 19 studies linked features of the school built environment to bullying behaviour. Classrooms, playgrounds, and corridors were identified as common bullying locations. Features of the school built environment linked to bullying behaviour included security cameras, architectural design, aesthetics, seating, and vandalism.

CONCLUSIONS

This review identified key school settings for anti-bullying interventions and identified gaps in existing built environment and bullying literature. Further analyses of published studies will inform anti-bullying policy and practice.

Helping Others in Virtual Reality Increases Prosocial Self-understanding Among Adolescents

Reflection on prosocial experiences may be helpful for adolescents highly attentive to their internal states (i.e., high private self-consciousness) to gain prosocial self-knowledge, yet adolescents with low private self-consciousness may not benefit from it. The current study proposed and examined that engaging in helping behavior would be beneficial for those with low private self-consciousness in self-understanding. Two experimental studies using immersive virtual environment technology were conducted to simulate helping situations. A total of 140 middle school students (n = 59, 47.5% female, M_age = 13.98, SD = 0.89, in Study 1; n = 81, 44.4% female, M_age = 15.31, SD = 1.18, in Study 2) completed the experiments. In both studies, adolescents engaging in helping behaviors identified themselves as more prosocial than those who did not engage in helping behaviors. In Study 2, adolescents' positive prosocial self-concept would increase more through engaging in prosocial behavior than by reflecting on past prosocial experiences. Furthermore, adolescents with high private self-consciousness can gain self-understanding both from self-reflection and engaging in prosocial behavior, whereas adolescents with low private self-consciousness benefit only from engaging in prosocial behavior. The findings suggest the need to consider individual differences and adopt appropriate ways of self-understanding when assisting adolescents' prosocial self-formation.