How can peers, parents, schools and new media stop bullying?

Public Release: 27-Jan-2016
How can peers, parents, schools and new media stop bullying?
SAGE

A new review of research out today outlines roles and recommendations for peers, parents, schools and new media platforms to stop bullying. This review was published in Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, a Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) journal published in partnership with SAGE Publishing.

"The fact that there are so many ways to intervene provides hope for stopping bullying and its negative effects," wrote study author Dr. Amy Bellmore. "Yet even with a mound of evidence about what may work, we still face many challenges to implementing these changes, as the most effective approaches are likely to require action on many fronts."

Building on more than 20 years of bullying research, Bellmore constructs a multi-tiered approach to stop bullying, with recommendations for four stakeholders:

Peers: Higher levels of bullying are reported in classrooms where victims are not defended by their peers than in classrooms where students intervene on the victims' behalf.

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Parents: Children that have warm relationships with their parents are less likely to become bullies or victims, compared to children that have neglectful or abusive parents.

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Schools: The school-based anti-bullying programs that have been most successful at reducing bullying and victimization are those that last longer, have more intensive interventions and many components, such as school rules, discipline, playground supervision and parent informational and training meetings.

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