1. Bullying is a Relationship Problem: Implications for Assessment and Intervention
Wendy Craig, Ph.D.,
Department of Psychology,
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Research funded by: National Centres of Excellence, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Crime Prevention Strategy, Ontario Mental Health Foundation

2. Estimated Annual Economic Costs of Relationship Violence
Over $ 9.1 billion
Child Abuse $ 468 million
Youth Violence $ 6.6 billion
Partner Violence $ 1.1 billion
Sexual Violence $ 33 million
Workplace Violence $ 970 million
Includes: direct medical, lost earnings and opportunity cost (time, employment and workers productivity), psychological costs, legal services, incarceration

3. Bullying is a Relationship Problem that Requires Relationship Solutions
Relationship dynamics in bullying are destructive:
Child who bullies learns how to use power and aggression to control and distress another.
Child who is victimized learns about loss of power in relationships and becomes trapped in a relationship in which he/she is being abused.

4. Girls’ and Boys’ Victimization Trajectories

5. Late Elementary School Individual & Relationship Risk Factors for Victimization
Individual Risk Factors
Anxiety
Relationship Risk Factors
Conflict with friends
Time with friends

6. Individual and Relationship Risk Factors for Victimization in High School
Anxiety
Eating problems (girls)
Depression (girls)
Relationship
Conflict and trust with parents
Parental monitoring
Conflict with friends
Susceptibility to peer pressure

7. High School Relationship Risk Factors for Victimization
Girls
Conflict with parents
Trust with parents
Conflict with friends
Susceptibility to peer pressure
Boys
Parental monitoring and trust

8. Girls’ and Boys’ Bullying Trajectories
Pepler, Jiang, Craig, & Connolly, In Press, Developmental Psychology

9. Individual & Relationship Risk Factors for Bullying in both Late Elementary & High School
Individual Risk Factors
Moral disengagement
Physical aggression
Relational aggression
Relationship Risk Factors
Parental trust
Parental monitoring
Parental conflict
Peer bullying
Conflict with peers
Susceptibility to peer pressure

10. Assessing Children at Risk for Involvement in Bullying and/or Victimization
Duration
Frequency
Severity
Pervasiveness

11. Implications for Intervention: Address Heterogeneity
Different trajectories require different types and intensity of intervention.
For both high victimization and high bullying groups, relationship problems tend to increase from early to middle adolescence.
Intensive and ongoing support starting in elementary school for this small high risk group may prevent their chronic pathway of victimization or bullying

12. Interventions for Children at Risk for Bullying and/or Victimization: Determining Intensity
Level 2: Selective
10-15%
Level 3:Indicated
5-10%
Level 1:
Universal
75-80%

13. Implications from the Educator Lens
Educating and connecting with parents.
Communication with parents before a problem begins.
Policy and expectations
Learn about their current family experiences.
Scaffolding and social architecture.
Assessment and identify early signs of potential involvement in bullying.
Regular check ins with child and with parents
Behaviour rating system
Reporting system
Prevention and Intervention
Collaborate and support on solutions.
Advocate by sustaining the connection.
Regular check-ins with positives

14. Principle 2: Bullying Requires a Developmental Approach
Bullying changes with the developing capacities and concerns of children and adolescents.
Bullying starts in preschool and continues into the school years and beyond.
Form of bullying diversifies with age along with salient developmental issues.
In many cases, bullying is the result of children learning about power and about relationships.
All children must learn about their power and how to use power positively.
Almost all children experiment with the use of power and learn that it is hurtful to use power and aggression in bullying.
Children learn about how to use power through direct experiences and observations.

15. Developmental Trajectory of
Power and Aggression
Elder
Abuse
Child
Abuse
Marital
Abuse
Gang/ Delinquency
Aggression
Dating
Aggression
Workplace
Harassment
Sexual
Harassment
BULLYING

16. Frequent Victims (once a month or more)
What forms of bullying occur? Again, results of our surveys provide some insights into the type of bullying that children experience in any particular setting. This graph considers data from over 4500 students across several schools in a single school district. Here we document the number of students who report being victimized by various forms of bullying at least once a month or more, some on a daily basis. As you can see, the most common forms of bullying are the verbal and social harassment. Far fewer students (and mostly boys) report that they are physically harassed. And surprisingly few students report regular victimization by electronic or cyber bullying.

17. Intervention Implications: Developmental Perspective
Early experiences and development lay foundation for all future learning, behaviour, and health.
Early intervention is more effective than later.
Start early, before the problem begins and have regular check-ins.
Developmentally tailor interventions
Different forms of aggression need to be targeted at different ages
Assess and identify those at highest risk for involvement.
Those involved early will experience the most problems and require the most intensive interventions.

18. Principle 3: Bullying Requires a Systemic Approach
Successful interventions are comprehensive and systemic.
Not one solution fits all.
Peers are central to bullying dynamics and solutions.
Adults support and model for children’s healthy relationships.
Bullying is a community problem.

19. The Peer Stage for Bullying
Peers Can Be Part of the Problem
Peers involved in majority of episodes (>85%)
1/3rd of peers say they would join in bullying
Peers present in bullying fulfill multiple roles
Peers’ joining exacerbates aggression and arousal
Peers Can Be Part of the Solution
Many children (41%) report that they “try to help”
Peers can be supportive to victimized children:
intervene more frequently than teachers on playground

20. Peer Solutions to Bullying
When peers were bystanders in bullying episodes:
They spent 25% of their time helping the victim.
They intervened in 19% of bullying episodes.
Majority of peer interventions (57%) were effective in stopping bullying within 10 seconds.
Peers tended to intervene prosocially with victimized child and aggressively with bullying child.
Intervention was more likely from same-sex peers and from popular status children.

21. Intervention Implications: Peers
Engaging the majority will positively change the minority who are involved in bullying.
Creating positive peer groups for students.
Having close friends and belonging to a peer group is protective of victimization.
Educating peers about their role.
Involving peers in the solutions and empowering them to address the issue.
Supporting peers in their efforts.
Creating and supporting relationship solutions.

22. The Role of Adults
Playground supervisors intervened in 4% of bullying incidents.
Classroom teachers intervened in 14% of bullying incidents.
Only 46% of children who are victimized report having talked to their teacher about the problem.
Children who do talk to an adult are less likely to be bullied in the following school year.
Children involved in bullying have poor relationships with their teachers, including little or no mutual warmth, caring, or positive feelings generally.
Strong, positive attachments between children and teachers are protective factors that reduce the risk of aggression problems.
Warm, secure attachments between teachers and students can foster social and academic success.
Craig & Pepler, & ,Atlas, 2000

23. Adult Leadership is the Foundation for Systems Change
Leadership by the school principal generates support and action.
Leadership by teachers is critical in program delivery and support of healthy relationships.
Other adults are also important in promoting healthy relationships.
Here is what we need to do- find relationship solutions, support individual children in their relationship capacity, structure children’s interactions and we need adults to guide the interventions..
But how do we get there- what are the steps? Get there by understanding the change process

24. Intervention Implications: Role of Adults
Adults are essential for children’s healthy relationships and are responsible for:
creating positive environments that promote capacity and competencies for healthy relationships.
minimizing contexts for negative peer interactions.
Children involved in bullying have poor relationships with their teachers, including little or no mutual warmth, caring, or positive feelings generally.
Strong, positive attachments between children and teachers are protective and foster social and academic success.
Adults can construct social experiences in ways that:
protect and support children’s developing relationship capacity
minimize the likelihood of bullying.
All adults are models for children and must lead by example and refrain from using power aggressively.

25. School Climate
Schools that create a caring and nurturing climate can have a positive and enduring influence on children.
Students’ academic achievement is affected by school climate:
high expectations of success, orderly school environment, high morale, positive treatment of students, active engagement of students, and positive social relations in school.
Punitive climate versus a restorative climate
In punitive individual attributions of blame, high social control and low social support to community members and children who are victimized
In restorative climates violation of relationships, not rules, increasing support to wrongdoers rather than punishing and isolating them, considers wider social context, and solutions extend to community.

26. Intervention Implications: School Climate
Positive relationships
Examination of relationships among all people in the school community.
Relationships with students must be warm and caring.
Relationships among all staff must be respectful.
Conflicts resolutions should preserve the dignity and self-worth of all involved.
The adult relationships serve as models to students.
Collaborative decision making
Engaging students.
Success experiences
Develop competence and experience success academically and interpersonally.

27. What Works in Bullying Prevention?

28. A Review of Bullying Prevention
The majority of programs were successful at reducing bullying and victimization at school.
Some programs have negative results
THE PROBLEM WAS INCREASED
Having a program is better than not having one.
The same program did not have similar effects in all schools.
Programmatic and moment-to moment
Implementation
Significance of adult leadership
Student involvement and leadership
Safe schools are the responsibility of community partnerships among ministries, administrators, teachers, trustees, support staff, students, parents, police and community partners (i.e., schools not alone)
Craig, Pepler, Murphy, McCauig Edge, in press

29. Characteristics of Top 5 Successful Programs
Three levels of intervention:
universal programs for the entire population;
indicated programs for students in the early stages of involvement in bullying or victimization;
selected programs for those who have serious problems with bullying and/or victimization.
To prevent bullying, addressed children’s:
thinking and attitudes
interactions with others
emotional and behavioural skills
Parent involvement
Community collaboration.
Craig, Pepler, Murphy, McCauig Edge, in press

30. Principles For Choosing a Program
Evidence based (i.e., draws from the current scientific understanding of bullying).
Program has been scientifically evaluated, with evidence of positive results
Program content is based on the current theoretical understanding of bullying problems (i.e., developmental and systemic).
Promotes relationship competence and capacity
Recognizes cultural diversity
Involves partnerships
The program is feasible (i.e., it can be implemented in the school).
Ensures sustainability and long term change

31. Bullying Prevention Does Not Come in a Box
Not just a single program but there are characteristics.
Awareness of potential problems.
Catch problem EARLY; ongoing support.
Moment-to-moment scaffolding – connections between adults and students.
Communication among adults, between children and adults, between home and school, etc.
Support for the most vulnerable children and youth.
Match supports and services to the needs and strengths of individuals.
Establish quality standards and monitor service delivery regularly.

32. Successful Bullying Prevention is about
Understanding that bullying is a relationship problem that undermines healthy development.
Focusing on promoting positive relationships.
Assessing and having ongoing evaluations.
Formal and informal
Developing partnerships.
Required in all settings where children live, learn, work, and play.
Having adult leadership.
Youth understand the complexity of their lives, but adults are responsible for socialization.
Sustainability.
Occurs with structure and support in moment to moment interactions.

33. Why Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence?
Healthy development depends on healthy relationships.
Developing the capacity for healthy relationships is essential.
Relationship problems affect children’s development and have a long-term impact on families, communities, and society.
Relationship problems can transfer to the next generation.
Knowledge of the processes within relationships that shape development is crucial for prevention and intervention to promote healthy development.

34. By Bridging Research and Practice
Preventing and Intervening in Bullying
By Bridging Research and Practice