Abstract
Bullying is a common and significant risk factor for mental and physical health problems. The aim of the outlined study was to evaluate the German version of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) and to investigate potential moderators of its effectiveness. 23 schools started with the implementation and all students were invited to complete the Olweus Bullying Questionnaire annually. For our analyses, the data from grades 5 to 9 were used (t0: n = 5759; t1: n = 5416; t2: n = 4894). 16 out of the 23 schools completed the 18-months implementation period. The effectiveness of the program statistically depended on its complete implementation (χ2(2) = 7.62, p = 0.022). In the group of non-completers, the prevalence of victimization did not change during the observation period of 2 years (χ2(2) = 4.64, p = 0.099). In the group of the completer schools, a significant decrease in bullying between t0 and t1 was found for victims (t0: 9.14%; t1: 6.87%; OR = 0.74; 95% CI 0.62–0.88; p = 0.001) and perpetrators (t0: 6.16%; t1: 4.42%; OR = 0.70; 95% CI 0.55–0.89; p = 0.004). After 24 months (t2), this decrease could be retained (victims: t2: 6.83%; OR = 0.73; 95%CI = 0.61–0.88; p = 0.001; perpetrators: t2: 4.63%; OR = 0.72; 95% CI 0.57–0.92; p = 0.009). Furthermore, we found the following moderators of program effectiveness in the completer schools: (1) gender (with a stronger decrease among victimized girls; p = 0.004) and (2) school grade (with a stronger decrease of victimization among grades 5–7; p = 0.028). The German version of the OBPP significantly reduced the bullying prevalence in the completer schools. Effective prevention needs time and resources: fulfilling the 18-months implementation period was the basis for positive results.
Highlights
Bullying is defined as negative actions, which occur repeatedly and over a long period of time
0 100 78.45 a Gymnasium is called A-level school; Haupt- and Realschule were summarized as B-level schools b Two of the seven non-completer schools did not participate in t2
In the light of the adverse long-term effects bullying has on victims and perpetrators and the increasing need for successful prevention, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the German Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP)
Summary
Bullying is defined as negative actions, which occur repeatedly and over a long period of time. It is discerned from peer-conflicts by an imbalance of power. The large-scale study “Health Behavior in School-Aged Children” (HBSC) with a sample of over 200,000 adolescents from 40 European countries estimates the worldwide prevalence of bullying victimization with 12.6%, ranging across countries from 4.8% to 45.2% [2]. The rates of victimization decreased with age. The prevalence for being a perpetrator is estimated at 10.7% [2]. In Germany, the recent studies reported prevalence rates of victimization between 10 and 16% [3, 4]
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