Bullying: What We Know – and Can Do Stuart Green, DMH, LCSW Behavioral Scientist, Overlook Hospital/Atlantic Health Associate Director, Overlook Family Medicine NJ Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention

Key Points 1.Bullying is the most common form of violence in children 2.Bullying is a serious problem – typically a traumatic experience with lasting effects. 3.Bullying is primarily an ecological/institutional problem, related more to characteristics of the social environment than to the characteristics of individual participants. 4. Institutions can effectively prevent and address bullying. 5. Addressing bullying – and especially preventing bullying – requires assessing and changing the culture/climate of the institution. S. Green,

Olweus

Traditional view 'boys will be boys', 'girls are mean' ‘it’s a dog-eat-dog world’ ‘life is cruel’ ‘rite of passage’ ‘people are like that’ ‘you have to get tough’ ‘competition builds character’ ‘you can handle it’ ‘life isn’t always fair’ = inevitable, the nature of children/people, growth experience, strengthening S. Green,

Modern view – bullying is created (by) modeling of bullying behavior acceptance of bullying as normal inaction when bullying occurs exposing persons to social systems in which bullying is rewarded or implicitly accepted. S. Green,

DEFINITION OF BULLYING A person is being bullied when: he or she is exposed repeatedly to negative acts by a peer or peers there is intent to harm there is an imbalance of power so that the person who is being bullied has a difficult time defending himself or herself. S. Green,

Bullying may involve either: direct actions (e.g., hitting, name-calling, texting) indirect actions (e.g., avoiding, social exclusion, spreading rumors, texting others, altering a website) S. Green,

Teasing/Normal ConflictBullying Variability in roles (negative acts in both directions) Always the same target Primary goal is not to harm.Intent to harm Playful or limited in extent, because participants equal in power Harmful, directed at vulnerabilities, negative acts increase with target’s distress Relationship valued for mutual benefit, concern for other Seeking power, control or material gain as primary motive for relationship Remorseful, takes responsibility, makes effort to address problem No remorse, blames victim, discounts target’s point of view Modified from schwablearning.orgorig. Bullying at School, D. Olweus

Prevalence most common serious problem of the school-age child, and common in involuntary institutional settings and among adults wide world occurrence middle school years peak period (adult settings less studied) impact 100% S. Green,

2006

All persons affected (the Bullying Circle): as bullying or bullied as bystanders (active, passive, ‘activated’) feel afraid, powerless, guilty, diminished empathy tension, numbing, fears of openness and self-expression S. Green,

Gender differences: males more likely to bully (males, females) males more likely to be bullied by males than females. in females, 'relational aggression' more common (manipulating relationships for negative effects on a peer) (males also engage in this) female victimization more likely to persist, perhaps more harmful effects S. Green,

Those who bully are more likely to: use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs have lower academic or workplace achievement have aggressive and anti-social behavior, including criminality be less empathic and more impulsive have individual or family problems have authoritarian parents/family backgrounds BUT … S. Green,

*But most persons who bully: have good self-esteem adequate academic and work performance good social skills and are often popular Bully/Victims: A small number of children both bully and are bullied And tend to have more problems S. Green,

*Characteristics targeted for bullying: 1. looks (e.g., obesity/shortness/) 2. race 3. gender identify and expression 4. poverty (family income) 5. religion 6. disability (e.g., learning differences, special health needs) 7. other characteristics (shyness, emotional expressiveness, less strength/athleticism, family conflict) Stan Davis, Charisse Nixon, Youth Voices Project, Spring 2010 Any perceived difference. Any child may be bullied. S. Green,

Evidence that being bullied is harmful increases suffering (decreases quality of life)* problems may not have developed or developed as severely* indicates other serious problems are present academic performance*, abdominal pain*, alcohol/ tobacco and other drug use, animal abuse, anxiety*, Asperger's (and other PDD), body dysmorphic disorder, cancer-related quality of life, cleft lip and palate, binge eating disorder, depression, depression*, poor diabetes self-management, encopresis*, engagement in school, illness complaints, lack of help-seeking and self-identification of problems, learning differences, low self-esteem, obesity, suicide*, stuttering, Tourettes, weapon-carrying and school shootings* HARM: SPECULATIONS teen pregnancy as a 'side-effect‘ (Garbarino) xenophobia ('white flight‘) inhibited adult-risk-taking S. Green,

Strategies summary accessing support from peers and adults the most helpful strategy actions victimized youth are often advised by adults to use (e.g., “tell the person how you feel”) make things worse much more often than they make things better telling an adult at school makes things better only slightly more often than making things worse youth in special education, youth of color (except for Asian American) and males told not to tattle twice as often Stan Davis, Charisse Nixon, Youth Voices Project, Spring 2010

WHAT TO DO Dan Olweus (Whole School Model) school the most common site change the culture of schools adult-initiated and led (involve children) S. Green,

What Schools Can Do Strengthen School Culture and Climate positive relations and shared understanding between staff increase positive staff-student interactions welcoming students to school support diversity character education (social-emotional learning) clear/consensus expectations ('how we do things here') S. Green,

Bullying Prevention Program School-Wide Administrative support Coordinating group/staff discussions/training Surveys, reporting system, multiple assessments Proactive effort to identify all incidents/relationships Supervise high-risk areas (schoolyard, lunchroom, school bus, team activities, locker room, cyberspace) Consistent rules and sanctions (well-known to students, staff, parents, community) Proactively identifying aggressive and vulnerable groups, proactive education, strengthening support Activate peer bystanders (‘upstanders’) More parent involvement S. Green,

Bullying Prevention Program Classroom Clear, consistent rules Regular meetings Collaborative learning (‘jigsaw’ – Aronson) Curriculum integration (all subjects) Proactive work on relationships Parent involvement S. Green,

Bullying Prevention Program Individual Proactive information-gathering on vulnerability and relations Meeting with each child bullied and parent (regret/apology, take responsibility, absolve) Meeting with each child who bullied (4 questions: what you did, harm it did, your problem, next time?) and call parent Consequences (reasonable, invariable, escalating) for the bullying child. Assure and arrange increased support for the bullied child. Active monitoring after incidents to ensure the bullied child’s safety. S. Green,

Key adult actions: statements, rules, modeling and consequences which clearly convey to children, especially at school, that bullying is wrong, and that alternative behaviors are noticed and rewarded an atmosphere of warmth, acceptance and support for diverse individual strengths. S. Green,

Systemic approach works: reduces bullying incidents dramatically in 1st year improvements in subsequent years, if ongoing shown to reduce bullying substantially in well-done intervention studies in many different countries, including the U.S. S. Green,

Be clear about what doesn’t work: Zero tolerance or ‘3 strikes’ Social skills training/psychotherapy as primary modalities Peer mediation and conflict resolution One-shot (e.g., assemblies) or short-term interventions S. Green,

What can parents do about bullying? (1)  Good relations/communication with children.  Inform yourself.  Expect/ ask/ demand adequate school action.  Expect/ ask/ demand that owners of social networking sites and internet providers address bullying.  Ask your child how children treat other children at school (and how your child is treated); listening is more important than advice. S. Green,

What can parents do about bullying? (2)  When you hear children speak badly of another child, gently express discomfort, and empathy for the scorned child.  Be present at your child's school; don't wait to be invited, ask to volunteer.  Take action with other concerned parents.  Meet (as a group) with school leaders; ask specifically about school’s approach. S. Green,

What can parents do about bullying? (3)  Never ignore bullying, don't walk by; if you can't intervene directly, report it.  Support bullied kids in every possible way.  Seek legal advice and government support.  Don't accept leaders who bully, including teachers; speak out, insist on change.  Consider changing schools, if possible, as a last resort. S. Green,

What Can Counselors Do?  Screen for bullying involvement, consider bullying as a factor or even cause of presenting problems.  Proactive identification of at-risk children, creative support through school culture and preventive counseling.  Call on the school for corrective action, emphasize support for child/family.  Have a bullying-aware office/school.  Address negative leaders.  Creatively support at-risk kids.  As community leaders, expect schools to address bullying, raise parental expectations.  Be clear about what works and doesn’t work S. Green,

“There is … powerful evidence that school climate affects students’ self- esteem and self-concept. School climate also colors school-based risk- prevention efforts. Effective risk-prevention and health-promotion efforts are correlated with a nurturing school climate. It also promotes academic achievement. As a result of these findings, fostering socially, emotionally, and physically safer schools has become a primary focus of the U.S. Department of Justice and virtually all state education departments.” Cohen, J. (2006). Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Academic Education: Creating a Climate for Learning, Participation in Democracy, and Well-Being. Harvard Educational Review, 76 (2),

OLWEUS: Our moral obligation to help bullied children

NJ Coalition for Bullying Awareness and Prevention (908) Stan Davis’ Schools Where Everyone Belongs (HRSA)