Whole‐school antibullying interventions: A systematic review of 20 years of publications

Abstract

AbstractA systematic literature review on whole‐school antibullying interventions was conducted. Twelve databases were consulted, considering as inclusion criteria: scientific article, published between 1998 and June 2018, in English or Portuguese, describing empirical studies on whole‐school antibullying interventions. Seventeen studies were analyzed, indicating that the interventions had the reduction of bullying prevalence as main goal, and secondary goals as improvements in reporting bullying occurrences, bullying identification, and attitudes toward bullying. Six interventions had experimental designs, five were quasiexperimental, and six were preexperimental. Data collection in 14 studies involved exclusively students, in two studies measurements also encompassed teachers, and one study applied questionnaires to parents only. Intervention effects on bullying prevalence were inconsistent, with eight studies finding significant decreases in bullying involvement, while seven studies did not show significant effects on bullying prevalence or found negative results, such as an increase of its prevalence. However, the interventions had significant positive effects on increasing the reporting of bullying occurrences, attitudes toward bullying, and perceived peer and teacher intervention. Thus, whole‐school antibullying interventions, incorporating multiple strategies and targeting multiple individuals, should be encouraged to address the complexity of bullying.