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Bullying Prevention and Intervention: What Works and What Doesn't

 
 
 

Are there bullying prevention programs or ideas that young people find effective? How do I know if my kid is facing bullying at school? If you were advising a school district, what are the two things that you would recommend that they implement to address bullying?

These are just a few of the many pressing, pragmatic questions raised by educators, parents, youth, and others who attended a webinar on bullying prevention and intervention hosted by Making Caring Common, Facing History and Ourselves, and The Choose Kindness Project. Renowned expert and scholar Dr. Dororthy Espelage presented her decades of research, followed by an interactive discussion with a panel of five young people ages 16-25 from across the U.S., along with questions from the audience. Below are key takeaways from the webinar and from some of the latest studies on bullying prevention and intervention.

What is bullying?

First things first: What is bullying? And how is identity- or bias-based bullying different? In general, bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior(s) among school-age children that has a high likelihood of causing physical or psychological harm or injury. It is characterized by:

  1. An imbalance of real or perceived power that favors the aggressor(s);

  2. Repeated aggression or the potential for repetition; and

  3. Feelings of being demeaned or intimidated on the part of those targeted.

The world has changed dramatically since this definition was created in the 1970s and UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is rethinking the definition. Scholars hope that an updated definition will include identity-based bullying, which is especially harmful because it is rooted in discrimination and bias. 

What doesn’t work to address and prevent bullying?

We know a lot about what doesn’t work in bullying prevention and intervention. This includes:

  1. Band-aid approaches, such as one-off school assemblies or speakers. They can even make things worse.

  2. Applying the same approaches across grade levels. For instance, while bystander intervention may work in high school it may not work in middle school because students at that age want to avoid rejection above all else.

  3. Expecting parents to attend events or to be primary change agents, especially when schools aren't measuring up or walking the talk. As one parent who attended the webinar shared, “The administrators [at my child’s school] say they champion DEI and SEL, yet the bullying is oppressive. There is so much interpersonal racism, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and other problems. [They] literally seem to accept these problems as the norm.”

What does work?

Dr. Espelage also highlighted what we know about what generally works:

  1. Schools need to adopt a multi-pronged approach that involves sound policies and procedures; transformative SEL (social-emotional learning) competencies, including empathy-building; ongoing staff training; and youth-driven interventions. For example, Dr. Espelage and her colleagues worked with students to develop Advocator, a tool that would enable them to report issues and concerns, including bullying, sexual harassment, and mental health challenges.

  2. There is overwhelming evidence that school connectedness and the presence of caring, trusted adults are consistently highly protective. Indeed, youth panelists shared about school adults that helped them through tough times and about the role of after-school programs.

  3. Parental monitoring and involvement are paramount, especially around key transition periods like when students transition from elementary to middle school and middle to high school. This doesn’t necessarily mean parents always initiate—it’s also very important that youth feel comfortable enough to share with their parents. 

Looking for more information? Stay tuned for a follow-up blog post highlighting specific bullying prevention and intervention resources and recommendations. You can also check out a recording of the full webinar here.

Written by Milena Batanova, Director of Research and Evaluation

 

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