Anti-bullying Policies Research Articles

Strategies for Schools to Prevent Psychosocial Stress, Stigma, and Suicidality Risks among LGBTQ+ Students

As key centers for adolescent development, schools present sites for intervention ensuring the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) students. Given mounting evidence on the association between LGBTQ+ identities, negative school climates, and disparities in mental health and suicidality, schools must maintain inclusive environments. This review focuses on strategies for schools to emerge as gateways to improved mental health and resilience among LGBTQ+ students. This study provides clear recommendations, including supporting anti-bullying policies, LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula, and safe spaces, for counselors, educators, school policy makers, and other stakeholders in school ecosystems to intervene professionally on behalf of LGBTQ+ students. The implications of this study help school counselors to be catalysts moving schools to better serve LGBTQ+ students.

An Analysis of Statewide Anti-bullying Laws Employing the Iowa Safe Schools Law as a Case Study

School bullying is a pervasive social problem that has been linked to severe mental health consequences for students. Though 50 states have adopted anti-bullying policies, research into the effectiveness of these policies has suggested that many such policies are not effective in reducing rates of bullying in schools. This paper aims to identify strategies for policy makers and social workers to reduce bullying in schools. This paper focuses on the Iowa Safe Schools Law as a case study for better understanding the strengths and limitations of statewide anti-bullying laws. Consistent with general evaluations of statewide anti-bullying laws, comparisons of rates of bullying before and after the passage of the Iowa Safe Schools Law reveal no reductions in rates of bullying. Through an examination of the extant academic and popular literature, this analysis identifies several critiques of the policy, namely that such policies infringe upon freedom of expression and that such policies focus on individual behavior modification rather than on changing underlying social norms that contribute to hostile environments. This paper presents several recommendations for advancing the prevention of bullying. Future research should identify underlying factors that render these policies ineffective and common factors of policies that have been found to be more effective. Bullying prevention policies should include funding allocated to these efforts and components that have been empirically linked to reductions in bullying. Social workers hold a key role in advocating for funding for this policy and offering institutional and individual-level interventions to reduce bullying.

АМЕРИКАНСЬКИЙ ДОСВІД КРИМІНАЛЬНО-ПРАВОВОГО РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ БУЛІНГУ

Проблема насильства в навчальних закладах існує в багатьох країнах світу, але не всі протидіють зазначеному явищу і проводять відповідну антибулінгову політику. Америка – одна з країн, яка активно бореться з булінгом у школі, і її досвід є важливим для України. У статті проаналізовано статистичні показники виявів булінгу та кібербулінгу в США. Висвітлено особливості антибулінгової політики різних штатів США, наведено загальні положення, визначено сучасні тенденції та перепони в боротьбі зі цькуванням. Запропоновано імплементацію окремих положень у національне законодавство.

The Impact of Personal Values, Gender Stereotypes, and School Climate on Homophobic Bullying: a Multilevel Analysis

IntroductionSchools are among the most homophobic social contexts, where students who do not conform to gender norms are at high risk of stigma and discrimination.MethodUsing a multilevel approach, the aim of the current was to examine whether adolescents’ engagement in homophobic bullying behavior was associated with personal values and stereotyped victim-blaming attributions at individual level, and perceptions of school as a community and frequency of teachers’ reaction to bullying incidents at classroom level. Data were collected in 2010. The sample consisted of 2718 Italian middle and high school students (53.2% females; mean age = 15.36, SD = .85) from 144 classrooms.ResultsResults showed that self-transcendence values reduced the risk of engaging in homophobic bullying, whereas both self-enhancement values and stereotyped victim-blaming attributions were positively associated with homophobic bullying. At classroom level, only negative perceptions of school as a community had a unique positive contribution on homophobic bullying, over and above other individual and contextual factors. Two cross-level interactions were found, indicating that self-transcendence values had a significant effect in decreasing homophobic bullying in classrooms where teacher support was perceived as low, whereas stereotyped victim-blaming attributions had a significant effect in increasing homophobic bullying in classrooms where teacher support was perceived as high.ConclusionThese findings provide further support to the social-ecological perspective as a useful guiding framework for understanding the complexity of factors predicting homophobic bullying.Policy ImplicationsEfforts should be made to develop clear anti-bullying school policies explicitly dealing with the issue of homophobic bullying.

Student anti-bullying and harassment policies at UK universities

ABSTRACT This article provides the first analysis of all available UK university anti-bullying policies, summarising, comparing, and contrasting the content of policies acquired from university websites. The importance of anti-bullying policies is known from policy research in schools and workplaces but has previously not been investigated in Higher Education. A new coding framework and guidelines were developed to enable our analysis, and universities were given a score. Scores indicated variation between policies, suggesting some students may have inadequate support when consulting their university policy. The findings indicate that all universities should create and implement an anti-bullying policy. Students could be involved in the development of interventions or policies, as co-created initiatives may be more influential. University policy must be up-to-date, inclusive, comprehensive yet concise, and it must be publicised. We propose that our novel coding framework could be of use to policy makers and researchers investigating bullying policy within higher education.

Protecting the mental health of future adults: Disentangling the determinants of adolescent bullying victimisation.

Adolescent bullying victimisation and maltreatment have been linked to mental health disorders. Early intervention interrupting victimisation continuity is required since adolescence is a critical period for the formation of adult skills. We investigate the protective factors against youth victimisation at school and domestically. This study uses the youth self-completion questionnaire (preadolescents/adolescents aged 10-15) from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) containing youth victimisation questions in waves 1, 3 and 5 spanning 2009-2013. The self-reported victimisation measures include direct aggression (physical, verbal) and indirect bullying by other young people at school/non-domestically and at the household. The investigation employs balanced and unbalanced sample designs, complete case analysis (CCA) and multiple imputation (MI). The most effective protective factor reducing victimisation at school and domestically is the strength of family support as felt by the child (perceived family support) and the quality of the family environment. The unobserved factors increasing non-domestic victimisation are related to the latent factors reducing family support. This indicates that victimised adolescents do not always inform their families. The intensity of past period bullying is a strong predictor of future victimisation. The importance of family support and the quality of the family environment as protective factors necessitates parental involvement in school anti-bullying programmes. The longitudinal persistence of bullying indicates the inability of frequently bullied adolescents to escape victimisation. Anti-bullying policy design should encourage victims to speak up by lowering victimisation stigma and, provide assurances against bully retaliation.

Analysing the quality of Australian universities’ student anti-bullying policies

ABSTRACT Bullying has been a topic widely researched in schools and the workplace, however, comparatively there is a paucity of research into bullying among university students. This is an oversight, as bullying may also have negative consequences for university students, ranging from anxiety to suicidal ideation. Anti-bullying policies are an important part of bullying prevention and intervention, however, due to Australian Federal legislation, policies for students are not mandatory at universities. To be an effective prevention and intervention strategy, anti-bullying policies and procedures should be informative, supportive, well publicised, and student user friendly. Through analysing the anti-bullying policies and procedures from 39 Australian universities, using a 37-item analysis tool adapted from Purdy and Smith as well as thematic analysis, this study aims to determine if Australian universities are providing students with the information and support they need to be able to report bullying to their university and study in a safe environment. Both strengths and weaknesses were found in 37 individual universities’ student anti-bullying policies and procedures, as well as overall trends displayed by universities Australia-wide. The overall paucity of information and consistency, as well as the poor user-friendliness of many of the documents, highlights the need for changes to be made. Without the reform of student anti-bullying policies and procedures in Australian universities, students will be unsupported and ill-equipped to identify and report bullying. Universities will also run the risk of gaining a bad reputation and not promoting a bully-free culture for students in which to learn and socialise.

Framing bullying as a health risk: Null effects on young adults’ support for anti-bullying policies

AbstractGiven extensive research underscoring the deleterious effects of bullying on youth adjustment, anti-bullying policies and programming are critical public health priorities. However, strategies that increase public support for anti-bullying causes are not well understood. This experiment assessed the influence of “bullying messaging” on support for anti-bullying policies. Specifically, I investigated whether learning about the health consequences of bullying, as opposed to its prevalence or educational impact, increased individuals’ support of anti-bullying policies. Participants (n = 329) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where they read a brief summary about bullying research; conditions varied by whether the research documented the: a) prevalence of bullying b) mental health consequences of bullying c) physical health consequences of bullying or d) academic consequences of bullying. Results indicated that participants endorsed high levels of support for anti-bullying policies, regardless of experimental condition, and that policies aimed at increasing K-12 mental health resources were most supported.

Addressing Gender & Sexuality in the Classroom and the Effects on Adolescents

Author(s): Mendez, Maya Cecilia | Abstract: This literature review presents research examining the school environment for LGBTQ students and the type of effects a positively and negatively perceived environment can have on these students as well as on educators and peers. Bullying and harassment are still a concern in schools despite there having been advancements in anti-bullying programs and policies (Poteat a Vecho, 2016). This is especially true for LGBTQ students. There have been recent changes in the sociopolitical climate and the movement to support this group of students but still, they continue to face harassment and lack of support from the educators and school administrations (Dragowski, McCabe, a Rubinson, 2016).Not only do LGBTQ students face difficulty with their peers and even teachers but also with their education. There is pushback against more inclusive sexual education that addresses sexuality beyond heteronormativity and gender nonconformity (Gegenfurtner a Gebhardt, 2017). However, we see that it is this lack of education that can result in LGBTQ students not feeling safe in schools because uneducated students may harass them and teachers may not know how to respond when a student is being harassed or is in need of someone to talk to (Dragowski et al., 2016).This literature review will look at what LGBTQ students face at school in regard to bullying from their peers as well as discussions for and against discussing gender and sexuality in the classroom and what affects both having and not having school support has on the LGBTQ students. Literature that discussed elementary aged children or college aged students were excluded. Research was limited between the years of 2013 and 2018 with the exception of Heteronormativity, school climates, and perceived safety for gender nonconforming peers by Toomey, R. B., McGuire, J. K., a Russell, S. T., 2012.For this literature review, “adolescence” has been defined as: being between the ages of 13 and 19; being of middle school and high school age. “Heteronormativity” has been defined in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as “[t]he property or quality of being heteronormative; the privileging of biologically determined gender roles and heterosexuality”. “Gender nonconformity” has been defined by Merriam Webster as “a state in which a person has physical and behavioral characteristics that do not correspond with those typically associated with the person's sex”.The databases used to find the literature were: Science Direct, specifically looking in the Journal of School Psychology; Wiley Online Library database, specifically in the journal Psychology for the Schools; and psychARTICLES in ProQuest. The key words used were: “gender”, “sexuality”, “LGBTQ”, and “gender” AND “sexuality”.

The Development of School Resilience to Reduce Bullying in Schools: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

This article presents the school resilience profile for seven high schools in Makassar, Indonesia and explains the relationship between school resilience and bullying behavior at the schools. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the status of school resilience, the dynamics of the bullying phenomenon in the schools, and the relationship between school resilience and bullying. The data were obtained using a structured questionnaire administered to 490 high school students (Grade 11, aged 15-17). The results of the analysis suggest that the six main aspects of school resilience have been implemented in the studied high schools. Further, the results indicate that increasing school resilience could reduce the occurrence of bullying cases. The measures the schools have implemented to improve school resilience are expected to continue to lower the occurrence of bullying cases. The results of this study provide valuable data for the development of effective school resilience-based anti-bullying policies.

School District Anti-Bullying Policies: a State-Wide Content Analysis

Although all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, relatively little research explores the content of bullying policies. A content analysis of anti-bullying policies from 76 school districts across the State of Louisiana was conducted. A 63-item coding scheme was developed to guide the analysis. The overall compliance to the coding framework by the Louisiana school districts considered in this study was 64%, with many policies covering logistical aspects of bullying response such as definitions, reporting, investigating, monitoring, disseminating policies, and consequences for perpetrators. While many school districts addressed evidenced-based practices and mental health support for victims and perpetrators, few school district policies addressed the use of personally owned technology, mental health support for witnesses, evaluating programs, or enumeration of vulnerable groups. There was also a noticeable gap in policies that were culturally responsive in nature. Implications are discussed for educators, policy-makers, and researchers.

Insider Stories: Tensions, Resistances, and Missed Opportunities in State LGBT-Inclusive Anti-bullying Policy

The small body of research exploring implementation of state anti-bullying law has noted that while many teachers and administrators report awareness of the law and an expectation for implementation, few report changes in the culture of their schools. Possible reasons for the disconnection between legislation and impact include policy and its implementation. Researchers have found substantial variation in the “fidelity of implementation of policy interventions for bullying” (Hall and Chapman 2018, p. 510). This study explores the implementation of LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying law in New York State through the stories of key participants in the Dignity Act Task Force, a statewide group selected to guide implementation. Participants perceived resistance from the New York State Education Department to developing Dignity Act implementation resources that engaged with LGBT inclusion in any meaningful way. While LGBT students were always listed among the law’s protected categories, implementation resources written specifically to address vulnerabilities and stigma experienced by LGBT students and families were generally dismissed as unnecessary.

The “Too Hard Basket”: managing workplace bullying

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of employee assistance programs (EAP) as a form of perceived organisational support (POS) to address workplace bullying (WB), from the perspective of employees who have been the victims of bullying. Design/methodology/approach Using an on-line survey, data were collected from 397 employees across a range of positions and industry sectors in Australia, who indicated they had been subjected to bullying. Findings The results of the study indicate that WB is rife, and although anti-bullying policies were in existence participants felt that these were mere tokenism. The level of POS and use of EAPs were considered to be inadequate and, interestingly, in some cases offered more support to the bully than the victim. Research limitations/implications With the increased rate of WB, organisations are seeking different ways to address this. This study highlights that the ability of EAPs to provide support to employees in these circumstances appears to be limited. The findings suggest that if management wish to use EAPs to support employees in cases of WB, they must invest more in them. Originality/value This study seeks to extend research into the management of WB through EAPs and POS and posits that there is a high level of dissatisfaction with management’s response and support with regard to bullying incidents.

Staff Reports of Bullying and Intervention Strategies in Croatian Care and Correctional Institutions for Youth.

This study compares staff reports of bullying among institutionalized youth with residents' own self-reported prevalence of bullying and victimization collected in the previous study (the Self-Report Study on Bullying in Croatian Residential Care [SSBCRC]) and staff reports of reduction strategies are compared with evidence-based proposed policy solutions arising from residents' reports. The study also compares reduction strategies used by staff with evidence-based proposed policy solutions arising from residents' reports arising from the SSBCRC. A total of 140 staff from 20 Croatian youth facilities completed an anonymous questionnaire. The results revealed that staff estimates of the prevalence of bullying and victimization were significantly lower than resident reports. Staff were better aware of the prevalence of certain types of bullying, but they held stereotypical views of bullies and victims and had difficulties in recognizing the true times and places of bullying. Staff described their anti-bullying policies as being predominantly reactive, rather than proactive and evidence-based. It is concluded that more effort needs to be made to change the current anti-bullying policies used by staff.

A cross sectional study to assess the prevalence of bullying among the high school students in schools of Bangalore urban district.

Context: Bullying is a multifaceted form of mistreatment mostly seen in schools. According to world health organization it is a major public health problem that leads to behavioral and emotional issues in victims. Hence creating awareness about the ill effects of bullying and promoting strategies such as enacting strict legislation against it is of major public health importance. Aim: To assess the prevalence of bullying among high school students of Bangalore urban district. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 340 high school students selected by simple random sampling method from schools of Bangalore urban district. Data collection was done by using structured and pretested questionnaire of Anti bullying Alliance. Results were presented in frequencies and percentages. Results: The mean age of study participants was 14.5 years. Majority (62.35%) were females. Study revealed that 63.52% of the students have faced bullying. Class room was the most common place of bullying accounting for about 24.11%. Hence the results of the study compelled to know about bullying and enforcement of stringent anti-bullying policy in schools to have student friendly atmosphere.

Analysis of Bullying Case Problem in Junior High School

Bullying is one of the most serious acts of school violence for educators, parents, and the public. According to the National Commission for Child Protection, incidences of bullying increase every year, in 2015 the number of bullies increased by 39%. The aim of this research is to describe the condition of bullying behavior among students in schools. The data were collected from 208 samples of junior high school students. A univariate analysis was conducted to show respondent characteristics and a description of the questionnaire results per-statement points was included. The results of the research showed that most bullying perpetrators were senior students as much as 87 respondents (41.8%), 34 respondents (16.3%) had become bullies, and 67 respondents (32.2%) had become victims of bullying. The majority of bullying incidents were in the lowest category, which was as many as 197 respondents (94.7%). The highest impact of bullying felt by the respondents was hurt feelings, which was as many as 93 respondents (44.7%). This research can further be a reference for schools to develop anti-bullying policies for dealing with bullying.

An Enlightened Environment? Workplace Bullying and Incivility in Irish Higher Education

This study explores the experiences of workplace ill-treatment of academic staff in the Irish Higher Education sector, with a focus on organizational response to experienced or witnessed workplace bullying and/or incivility. Workplace bullying is a significant problem, affecting approximately 15% of the workforce, with considerable variation by sector. Educational workplaces typically display prevalence rates that exceed average workplace bullying rates. The negative impacts on health and well-being are well documented and evidence is also emerging to show that organizational responses are less than optimal. The data collected comprise 11 qualitative in-depth interviews with academic staff in three of Ireland’s seven Universities. Applying a phenomenological analysis approach, data revealed that participants’ experiences were overwhelmingly negative in respect of organizational response, despite the fact that each University had an anti-bullying policy. This is explored and discussed in the context of failure to address the complex power relations, which are particularly relevant in professional organizations, intensified by current changes in the higher educational sector. Study limitations include the small number of Universities and small sample size, thus limiting generalizability.

The Election of Donald J. Trump as President of the U.S. Should Wake America Up!

This project was an effort to better understand how assessments of theories are developed and information is analyzed and gained through Grounded Theory qualitative research methods. We were charged to assemble participants for a Focus Group. It was suggested that we utilize methods recommended by Creswell & Poth (2018), Maxwell (2013), and Merriam & Grenier (2019) to assist with establishing our formats to facilitate this project. Those authors identify that the emphasis in Grounded Theory qualitative research is not about the actual narrative or phenomenon being brought to light, but is more about telling the story, and communicating through evaluations of the results leading to the development of theories derived from deep analysis of those results. The Focus Group viewed a video of a speech Mitt Romney gave in March 2016. The speech was during the 2016 Republican Primary Campaign period. In that speech, Mr. Romney denounced Donald Trump and presented several reasons he believed that Trump was not the best candidate to represent the Republican Party as their nominee for President of the United States. The theories that emerged were that politics is full of deception, lies, and bullying and that the American voters and especially the Republican Party have allowed the nation to go down an unprecedented path that may lead to the need for additional amendments to the U.S. Constitution. New anti-bullying policies and laws with real negative consequences need to be initiated to begin efforts to change the American political narrative with the hope of guiding us to a more equitable political environment and back to elevated levels of decency and morality.

Is Fidelity of Implementation of an Anti-Bullying Policy Related to Student Bullying and Teacher Protection of Students?

Bullying is a significant school problem. Policies have been developed to reduce bullying, yet little is known about their implementation, which must occur for these policies to have an effect. This study examines associations between the overall implementation of a state anti-bullying policy and implementation of specific components outlined in the policy with two outcomes: bullying among students and teacher protection of students. Data were collected from 588 educators in K-12 schools across North Carolina a year following the enactment of an anti-bullying law in the state. Results show that overall policy implementation fidelity is inversely related to student bullying and positively related to teacher protection. In addition, the implementation of certain policy components (i.e., educator and student knowledge of bullying reporting procedures, training of educators about protected classes from bullying, student knowledge of protected classes, and educators reporting and remediating bullying based on protected classes) is significantly related to the outcomes. Thus, the implementation of certain anti-bullying policy components may be more potent in addressing bullying. Future research should identify constellations of policy strategies that need to be activated in schools to eliminate bullying.

How Parents and Agents Can Address Bullying with Youth

Recently the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new anti-bullying policy that concluded that bullying is not just another childhood behavior that will eventually be outgrown, but rather a public health problem that can have long-term effects for both the bully and the victim. Children who don't escape the cycle of bullying are at higher risk for serious academic, social, emotional, and legal problems. This has been reinforced by a report from the AMA indicating that 7-15% of school-aged children are bullies and one in 10 school children is a victim of bullying (Peck, 2002). This document is FCS2243, one of a series of the Family, Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date: December 2005.