Addressing Bullying Among Tweens: Prevention and Intervention

Many Faces of Childhood Well-Being: The Tween Years Edmonton, Alberta 22-23 November 2010 Shelley Hymel University of British Columbia Bullying…. •Norway early 1980’s •Japan early 1990’s •North America late 1990’s

Jason Lang, aged 17 shot and killed at W.R. Myers High School Taber, Alberta April 20, 1999

Emmett Fralick Age 14 Grade 9 St. Agnes School Halifax Nova Scotia

Took his own life 8April 2002 Travis Sleeva Age 16 Grade 11 Canora, Saskatchewan

Shot himself in 2004 in response to peer bullying And it continues even today…

April 9, 2009 April 16, 2009 Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover Jaheem Herrera

Both boys were subjected to anti-gay bullying by peers Both boys committed suicide by hanging themselves. Both boys were 11 years old. Hymel & Swearer, 2008 “A person is being bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons.” Olweus, 1991

Three critical components:  Intentionality  Repetition  Power Differential The thing about power….

Power comes in many forms…

• Physical (larger, older) • Power in numbers • Social (more popular, more competent) Canada in international comparisons? CANADA

How often have you taken part in bullying other students? Involvement in Bully-Victim Incidents

8-10% 8-12% Victims 1-5% Bullies Bully‐Victims Witnesses 70-80% Forms of Bullying

Behavioral Category Of Concern Of Serious Concern

pushing spitting threatening with a weapon Physical Bullying shoving hitting defacing property kicking stealing mocking, teasing, dirty intimidating phone calls, racist, Verbal Bullying looks, name-calling sexist, homophobic taunts, verbal threats, coercion, extortion

gossiping, setting up for inciting hatred, racist, sexist, embarrassment, homophobic alienation, Social Bullying spreading rumors, setting other up to take the blame exclusion from group public humiliation

use of internet, email or text messaging to threaten, hurt, Cyber Bullying single out, embarrass, spread rumors or reveal secrets about others Victimization across forms of bullying (n=1700 students, grades 4-7, from 14 schools) Craig & Pepler: Bullying as an Underground Activity

52 hours of videotape from 2 schools • over 400 episodes of bullying • on average, once every 7 minutes on playground; • once every 15-20 minutes in classroom • average bullying episode = 37 seconds, but one lasted 37 minutes • teachers intervened once in every 25 incidents (4% of the time) Pepler and Craig: Peer’s Role in Bullying

• peer present as observers in 85-88% of observed bullying episodes • peers intervened on behalf of victim only 11% of the time Correlates and Consequences

Victimization Bullying • academic difficulties • externalizing problems • school truancy/avoidance • antisocial problem behaviour • increased absenteeism • mental health problems • somatic complaints • depression (e.g., headaches, stomachaches) • anxiety • stress-related illness, • suicide physical health problems • low self-esteem • dating aggression • depression • sexual harassment • social withdrawal/isolation • arrests for child/spousal abuse • social anxiety, loneliness • delinquency and criminality • suicide • moral disengagement • aggressive behaviour SCHOOL BULLYING & LATER CRIMINALITY WHY?

ThreeThree possibilitiespossibilities •• PsychopathologyPsychopathology •• HumanHuman naturenature •• PartPart ofof growinggrowing upup Why?

Psychopathology? CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WHO BULLY

•  externalizing problems & hyperactivity (e.g., Khatri et al., 2000; Kumpulainen et al. 1999) •  antisocial & physically aggressive behavior (e.g., Craig, 1998)

•  empathy (e.g., Espelage & Mebane in press; Funke 2003; Roberts & Morotti, 2000; Olweus 1993, 1997)

•  anxiety (e.g., Craig, 1998; Olweus, 1993) C OL UM BI NE

COLUMBINE by Dave Cullen 2009 HOW OFTEN DO YOU TAKE PART IN BULLYING OTHERS?

• SAMPLE OF 1700 STUDENTS, GRADES 4-7 FROM 14 SCHOOLS

• 28% report socially bullying others AT LEAST “once or a few times” • 33% report verbally bullying others AT LEAST “once or a few times” • 14% report that they physically bullied others “once or a few times”

• SAMPLE OF NEARLY 500 STUDENTS, GRADES 8-10 FROM 1 SCHOOL

o 67% report bullying others AT LEAST “few times” or “once in a while” Why?

Human Nature? Bullying as a Group Phenomenon Olweus’ Bullying Circle

A G Child Bullying Defenders B Followers

Victimized Supporters Child Possible F C defenders

Passive Disengaged supporters onlookers D E Craig & Pepler: Peer Contributions

Peer bystanders are present in 85% of bullying episodes, but they • intervened on behalf of victim only 11% of the time

• spent 53% of the time passively watching

• spent 22% of the time helping the bully

• shift the affect of the bullying child when they support bullying and/or join in, creating • more excitement • more happiness • more aggression Group Socialization Theory (Harris, 1995, 1998)

BETWEEN WITHIN GROUPS GROUPS

ASSIMILATION DIFFERENTIATION •group contrast effects •self- •social comparisons •group differences categorization widen •status hierarchies •adopt group norms •ingroup favoritism/ •dominance, power outgroup discrimination •increased similarity Why?

Part of Growing Up? Frequent Victims (once a month or more)

electronically bullied socially bullied 250 verbally bullied

200 physically bullied

150

100

50

0 Gr 4 Gr 5 Gr 6 Gr 7 Gr 8 Gr 9Gr 10Gr 11Gr 12 Domains of Social Development

• Social Participation • Empathy • Perspective-taking • Prosocial Reasoning • Friendship conceptions Domains of Social Development

• Social Participation • Brain Development • Perspective-taking • Identity Development • Friendship conceptions • Moral Development • Empathy • Prosocial Reasoning Morality and Bullying Moral Disengagement (Bandura,1999; 2001; Bandura, Caprara, Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, & Regalia, 2001)

Emotional Responses: Pride, Excitement or Indifference VS. Shame or Guilt

Cognitive Justifications: 1) Cognitive restructuring 2) Minimizing one’s agentive role 3) Disregarding or distorting negative impact 4) Blaming and dehumanizing the victim Moral Disengagement & Bullying (Hymel, Rocke Henderson & Bonanno. 2005)

1) Cognitive restructuring “Bullying is just a normal part of being a kid.” (64% of students endorsed) “It’s okay to join in when someone you don’t like is being bullied.” (29%) 2) Minimizing one’s agentive role “Adults at school should be responsible for protecting kids from bullies.” (51%) “It’s my responsibility to intervene or do something when I see bullying.” (35%) (reversed) 3) Disregarding or distorting negative impact “Getting bullied helps to make people tougher.” (44%) “Some kids need to be picked on to teach them a lesson.” (52%) 4) Blaming and dehumanizing the victim ”It’s okay to pick on losers. (25%) “If kids didn’t cry or give in so easily they wouldn’t get bullied so much.” (70%) “Most students who get bullied bring it on themselves.” (56%) Moral Disengagement and Bullying (Hymel, Rocke-Henderson, & Bonanno, 2005)

• positive attitudes and beliefs about bullying were significantly more likely among students who engaged in bullying

• 38% of the variance in reported bullying accounted for by the student’s endorsement of only five moral disengagement statements

• Sometimes it’s okay to bully other people. • In my group of friends, bullying is okay. • Kids get bullied because they are different. • Some kids get bullied because they deserve it. • Some kids get bullied because they hurt other kids. “Disengagement practices will not instantly transform considerate persons into cruel ones. Rather, the change is achieved by progressive disengagement of self-censure. Initially, individuals perform mildly harmful acts they can tolerate with some discomfort. After their self-reproof has been diminished through repeated enactments, the level of ruthlessness increases, until eventually acts originally regarded as abhorrent can be performed with little anguish or self-censure. Inhumane practices become thoughtlessly routinized. … People may not even recognize the changes they have undergone as a moral self.”

Albert Bandura, 2001 Why do people bully?

• Child psychopathology • The gradual social development of our children • The nature of human beings Implications

• As one of the primary socialization forces for our children, and a primary context in which bullying occurs, schools need to address this issue directly.

• All children involved in bullying incidents – perpetrators, victims and bystanders - must be considered. Why intervene at the school level? It’s the right thing to do….

Every individual has the right to be spared from oppression and repeated, intentional humiliation. It is a fundamental democratic right to not be victimized in school.

Dan Olweus, 1991 It makes economic sense…

Cost-Benefit Analysis

• In Canada, it is estimated that the cost of relationship violence to society is over $9 billion annually (Pepler & Craig 2008)

• Child abuse $468 million • Youth violence $ 6.6 billion • Partner violence $ 1.1 billion • Sexual violence $ 3.3 million • Workplace violence $970 million

• Cohen (1998) estimates that each high-risk youth who becomes a career criminal costs society $1.3-1.5 million (US$) in external costs over a lifetime (e.g., lost wages, medical costs, stolen property, incarceration, criminal justice system).

• Pay now or pay later. It can impact achievement….

"I just want the bullying to stop. That is all I ever wanted. I used to love going to school. Now I hate it."

9-year-old Verity Ward quoted in the Sunday Telegraph, 12 March 2000 Peaceful Schools Project, Topeka, Kansas backoffbully.com

Twemlow, Fonagy, Sacco, Gies, Evans & Ewbank (2001, American Journal Psychiatry) Peaceful schools program leads to decreased discipline referrals and increased academic achievement Fonagy, Twemlow, Vernberg, Sacco & Little (2005, Medical Science Monitor, vol. 11) Creating a peaceful school learning environment: The impact of an anti-bullying program on educational attainment in elementary school. School-Based Initiatives: Intervening in the Bullying Processes • Beware of “zero tolerance” policies - One size does not fit all • Bullying as a teaching moment rather than a discipline problem (Rocke-Henderson, 2002) • Something is better than nothing • Nonintervention is typically interpreted as acceptance and tolerance • Three targets of intervention • BULLIES Children who bully require formative consequences: • VICTIMS Children who are victimized require safety and support to develop positive connections with peers. • WITNESSES Peer witnesses may be the most effective agents of change. Children who bully…. Formative Consequences for Children Who Bully

• Find alternatives to detentions/suspensions • Work the first time or not at all

• Direct and immediate consequences are necessary, but what kind? • Provide clear message that what they are doing is bullying and is unacceptable • Quick, immediate, no-nonsense talks work better than long lectures • Build awareness skills, empathy, and insights • Inductive, other-centered discipline to increase empathy • Provide youth with alternatives to bullying • Re-channel bullies into socially appropriate leadership & responsibility • Make students responsible & accountable for their behavior Helping students become responsible for their behaviour

• School-based community service

• Restorative vs Punitive Discipline Practices • Restitution Self-Discipline (Diane Gossens) • Restorative Justice Punitive versus Restorative Discipline (Conversation Peace, Fraser Community Justice Initiatives, 2006)

Punitive Discipline: Restorative Practices:

Focus is on punishment Focus is on accountability, healing, reparation

Harm is defined in terms of Harm is defined in terms of people broken rules and guilt hurt and relationships damaged

Justice = understanding, dialogue Justice = proving who is right and and reparation, achieved when who is wrong; achieved when people take responsibility for their those those found guilty are actions, relationships are healed punished and harm repaired

Action directed by authorities to Action is determined by all parties person who caused harm together Restitution Self-Discipline

Diane Gossen Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Children who are victimized…. Providing safety and support for Victims: Be Viligant

Do you suspect that a student is being victimized? They may not tell you directly. Possible warning signs:

• Avoids recess/playground before, during and/or after school • Arrives to school late or just at starting bell • Hangs out primarily with younger students (may indicate problem with agemates) • Appears to be alone most of the time at school • Frequent injuries or frequent damage to clothes or property • Numerous lost belongings • Sleeping all the time (or not at all) • Somatic complaints (headaches, stomach aches, etc.) Providing safety and support for Victims: Take an active role

• “Be There” • School staff are present/available in hallways and on school grounds • Make direct contact with students • Get to know all the students • Diffuse situations before they escalate • “Safe Havens” • Schools provide safe setting in free periods for victimized students • Schools provide surveillance and monitor “hotspots” (which can shift) • Williing to help a child re-locate to a new school if efforts fail • Support all children in developing positive connections with peers • Social Emotional Learning initiatives (see casel.org) • “Adopt a Student” and “Be a Hero” initiatives • Assertiveness Training (e.g. see safeteen.ca) Children who witness….

The critical role of the “bystander” Craig & Pepler: Peer solutions

Although peers were witnesses in 85% of bullying incidents:

• they only spent 25% of their time helping the victim. • they only intervened in 19% of bullying episodes. • most peer interventions (57%) were effective in stopping bullying within 10 seconds. Bullying in school is a group phenomenon in which most children have a definable participant role (Salmivalli et al., 1996, 1997)

Distribution of Finnish children across the various p artici p ant roles with res pect to bull yin g episodes in 6th grade (adapted from Salmivalli et al., 1996) %25 23.7%

Boys Girls 19.5% 20 17.3%

15 11.7%

10 8.2% 6.8%

5

0 Bully Assistant Reinforcer Defender Victim Outsider Changes in Bystander Responses: Grades 4 - 11 (Trach, Hymel, Waterhouse & Neale, 2010)

As students got older, they were LESS LIKELY TO • Talk to an adult about the bullying • Help the victim • Tell the bully to stop • Get their friends to help solve the problem (boys only) As students got older they were MORE LIKELY TO • Get friends to get back at the bully • Walk away • Stay home from school • Ignore or avoid the bully (boys only) • More likely to talk to another student about the bullying (girls only) • More likely to do nothing BYSTANDER HELPLESSNESS

By high school, across schools 70-82% of students agree that “it’s okay to report bullying to school authorities.” 45-72% of students agree “It’s my responsibility to do something when I see bullying.”

BUT 45-72% agree that “If you tell on a bully, people will think you are a “tattle tale” or loser. 58-86% agree that “Kids who tell on bullies are often the next victims.”

20-36% agree that it is “better not to get involved.” 26-38% believe that there is “nothing I can do to stop it”. 28-33% admit that they are “too frightened to intervene.” 51-67% agree that they are “just glad it’s not me”.

Beliefs about Defending Victimized Peers

Example items:

HIGH “Is it okay for a student to defend a student being bullied?”

“Is it okay to tell an adult if another MEDIUM student is… spreading rumors LOW about/beating up…another student? Collective Efficacy about Peer Support & Trust

Example items: HIGH “Students in my school can be trusted” MEDIUM “Students in my school are willing to LOW help other students” Collective Efficacy about Peer Help

Examples: HIGH How often most students in their school would help out or intervene… MEDIUM “…when a student is making fun of or teasing another student who is obviously weaker”

LOW “…when a student or group of students is pushing, shoving, or trying to pick a fight with a weaker student” Enhancing Bystander Participation: Some new approaches

Anatol Pikas’ Method of Shared Concern, Australia Adult-facilitated efforts to bring all participants together to change the situation

Ishu Ishiyama’s Anti-Discrimination Response Training (ART) -Helping students to become “active witnesses”

Lisa Dixon Wells & Dwayne Peace, Dare to Care , Alberta (www.daretocare.ca) Take the Time: An anti-bullying program that empowers youth to change their own school climate – designed for middle school students

Christina Salmivalli’s KIVA program in Finland Encourages bystanders to move from passive onlookers or supporters of bullying to defenders and supporters of the victims Anti‐bullying Resources DO ANTI-BULLYING INTERVENTIONS WORK? Different interventions can yield similar results (Rigby, 2005)

• Norway Intervention Olweus program emphasizing discipline, rules, consequences, and sanctions

• Finland Intervention Salmivalli et al. program emphasizing problem-solving methods and whole-group approach, with major focus on bystanders Both report 42% reduction in victimization The Norway Project (Olweus)

School Level better recess supervision contact telephone meeting of school staff & parents teacher groups to develop “school climate” parent circles/discussion groups

Classroom Level regular class meetings cooperative learning meetings among teachers, parents & students common positive activities role playing and literature about bullying explicit class rules against bullying

Individual Level serious talks with both bullies and victims help from “neutral” students advice to parents (brochure) change of class or school if necessary “discussion” groups with parents of bullies & victims KiVA

Finnish Anti Bullying Intervention Christina Salmivalli and colleagues (2004, 2006) University of Turku, Finland

Targeting the group as a whole:

• Provides a variety of materials for students , teachers & parents • Uses internet and computer games to teach children about bullying • Emphasis is placed on bystanders, encouraging them to move from passive onlookers or supporters of bullying to defenders and supporters of the victims Evidence-Based Practice

Selecting Interventions that have been proven effective

But … proven effectiveness elsewhere is no guarantee of success (e.g., Smith, Schneider, Smith & Anadiadou, 2004) Reported variations in outcomes between schools for the Schleswig Holstein Program (Hanewinkel, R., 2004, Prevention of bullying in German schools In Smith, Pepler & Rigby: Bullying in Schools: How successful can interventions be?) Reviews of Anti-Bullying Interventions

• Smith, Schneider, Smith, and Ananiadou (2004) • Vreeman and Carroll (2007) • Rigby & Slee (2008) • Merrell, Gueldner, Ross, & Isava (2008) • Ttofi, Farrington & Baldry (2008) Evidence-Based Practice

Selecting Interventions that have been proven effective

But … proven effectiveness elsewhere is no guarantee of success

And… don’t discourage efforts to develop new approaches CANDADIAN INITIATIVES: Some Examples

Alberta: Lisa Dixon-Wells & Dwayne Peace’s Dare to Care/take the Time Saskatchewan: Diane Gossen’s Restitution Self Discipline Ontario: Mary Gordon’s Roots of Empathy Quebec: Mrs. Twinkle Rudberg’s Leave Out ViolencE (L.O.V.E.) British Columbia: Anita Robert’s Safeteen Ishu Ishiyama’s Anti-Discrimination Response Training (A.R.T.) Bonnie Leadbeater’s W.I.T.S. program Evidence-Based Practice

Selecting Interventions that have been proven effective

But … proven effectiveness elsewhere is no guarantee of success

And… don’t discourage efforts to develop new approaches

Accountability: Evaluating whether or not your intervention works WHAT CAN YOU DO?

“All that is needed for evil to prosper is for people of good will to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke THE ROLE OF ADULTS

Serious self-reflection:

Do we model bullying for our children? THE ROLE OF ADULTS

Keep informed….. www.prevnet.ca education.com Special issue on bullying, including peer reviewed, brief articles from scholars around the world THE ROLE OF ADULTS

Begin the conversation…..

BOOKS AS DISCUSSION STARTERS BUT BE SURE TO READ THE ENDINGS CAREFULLY THE ROLE OF ADULTS

Lessons from resiliency research… …..One adult can make a difference

“Every child requires someone in his or her life who is absolutely crazy about them.” Urie Bronfenbrenner In conclusion, there is no conclusion to what children who are bullied live with. They take it home with them at night. It lives inside them and eats away at them. It never ends. So neither should our struggle to end it. Sarah, age 17 Shelley Hymel Faculty of Education University of British Columbia 2125 Main Mall Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 [email protected]