Bullying is a Relationship Problem: Implications for Assessment and Intervention

1. Bullying is a Relationship Problem:Implications for Assessment and Intervention Wendy Craig, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada wendy.craig@queensu.ca 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 SchoolIndividual & Relationship Risk Factorsfor 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 Individual • 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 • Conflict with friends

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)

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.

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 www.prevnet.ca