Understanding and
Addressing Bullying in
Schools
Christine Waanders, Ph.D.
Center for Violence Prevention
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Agenda for today
Trends in Bullying—definitions, prevalences
Impact of Bullying
Suicide and Harm Prevention
Strategies for Responding to Bullying
Case Discussions
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
• What kinds of bullying have you observed
or heard about in your schools?
• What are the effects of aggression &
bullying in schools?
• Where is bullying happening for
your students?
THE IMPACT OF BULLYING
Directly affects 20-30% of students
Bullying victimization is highest for middle schoolers
(20-28%), followed by high schoolers (14-19%) and
primary school students (8-10%).
Disrupts learning environment and worsens school
climate.
Contributes to emotional harm, physical injury, and
lower academic functioning.
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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on
Bullying Prevalence
• During remote learning, we expected
Physical and Verbal Bullying to go down, and
Cyberbullying to go up
• In fact, all bullying went down, continuing a
10-year trend
• What’s next? We know social skills and
conflict management skills were impacted
after this period of social isolation…
• What are you noticing 2-3 years later?
BULLYING DEFINED
Bullying is intentional aggressive
behavior that occurs repeatedly over
time, in the context of a power
difference.
• Repeated
• Intentional
• Power Difference
(Gladden, Vivolo-Kantor, Hamburger, & Lumpkin, 2014; Olweus, 1993)
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BULLYING DEFINED
Intentional aggressive behavior that typically occurs
repeatedly over time (or has the potential to be
repeated), in the context of a power differential.
Repeated
Intentional
Power
(Gladden et al., 2014; Olweus, 1993)
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CORE FEATURES: REPEATED
• Repeated
• Often occurs in cycles
• Follows kids across settings
• Feels inescapable to the victim or
target
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CORE FEATURES: INTENTIONAL
• Intentional
• Actions or words that are meant to
harm
• Hurt feelings
• Harm to relationships or reputation
• Instrumental aggression—children
who bully are trying to benefit from it
by boosting their status or obtaining
something concrete from the victim or
target.
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CORE FEATURES: POWER
• Power
• Real or perceived power
• Differences in:
• Physical size
• Age/grade level
• Gender
• Social Status (In group vs. Out group)
• Cyber skills
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WHEN IS IT NOT BULLYING?
When kids of equal status
engage in:
• Fights
• Disagreements
• Conflicts
• Teasing
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CONFLICT VERSUS BULLYING
Conflict Bullying
One time event, occasional Repeated (2 or more times a
month)
Not pre-planned, heat of the Intentional and planned
moment
All involved individuals are upset Victim is most upset
Little power differential, equal Person bullying has power (e.g.,
social standing and/or size can take away something from
victim)
Both sides view the situation as a Person bullying does not try to
problem and could do something solve the problem (may not see
about it. the problem). Victim has little
power to solve the problem.
WHO IS AT RISK FOR BULLYING?
RISK FACTORS FOR VICTIMIZATION
Having a notable difference
• Being tall, small, or overweight
• Being LGBTQ
• Middle Childhood: Gender non-conforming behaviors
• Having a physical or cognitive disability
• Recent immigrant status
• Having a mental health disorder or learning difference:
depression, anxiety, ADHD
Being someone who bullies others (bully-victim)
Having poor friendship quality
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PREVALENCE OF BULLYING ACROSS
DIFFERENT RACES
40%
37%
35%
30%
25%
25%
22%
20%
18%
15%
13%
10%
5%
0%
Biracial Students White Students Black Students Latinx Students Asian Students
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GENDER PATTERNS IN AGGRESSION
Boys engage in more Girls engage in more More girls than boys
Physical Aggression Relational than report being bullied at
than girls do Physical Aggression school (25 vs. 19%)
Boys and girls Girls and Boys Girls are 3X more
engage in similar engage equally in likely to be the
rates of Relational perpetrating victims of
Aggression cyberbullying cyberbullying
Experiences of LGBTQ students
Almost 60% of LGBTQ youth report feeling unsafe at school
in the past year because of their sexual orientation
45% of LGBTQ youth felt unsafe because of their gender
expression.
70% of LGBTQ students reported being verbally harassed
and 29% reported being physically harassed at school in the
past year.
About 40% of LGBTQ youth have experienced bullying
SPECIAL POPULATIONS AT RISK
FOR BULLYING
Youth with ADHD, 44% of kids with
Autism and learning Autism report (or
disorders are more their parents
frequent targets of report) a bullying
bullying experience
Hyperactivity and
Higher when they impulsivity go along
have comorbid with higher rates of
ADHD bullying and
victimization
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TYPES OF BULLYING
Physical: Hitting, pushing, tripping, kicking
Verbal: Name calling, insults, curses said directly to
someone
Social/Relational: Mean words said behind someone’s
back, rumor-spreading, social exclusion, pressuring
Cyber: Aggression carried out via social media,
videogames, or by text
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DEVELOPMENTAL PATTERNS OF
AGGRESSION
Middle and High
Preschool Years Elementary Years
School Years
• Physical • Physical and • Relational
Aggression is Verbal Aggression is
most prevalent Aggression are more prevalent
Prevalent than Physical
• Relational • In later Aggression
Aggression elementary
emerges, but it’s grades, • Cyberbullying
overt not covert relational increases
aggression rises,
done covertly
CYBERBULLYING
Rather than a subtype, it’s a medium for bullying
Cyber victims are most at risk for internalizing
and externalizing symptoms
Significant co-occurrence with other types (4.6%
of victims experience only cyber)
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CYBERBULLYING
Definitional issues
• Power differential can be about tech skills
• Repetition occurs through sharing/spreading
(i.e., repeated views)
Differences from Traditional Bullying
• Most youth do not report to adults
• Easier for bullies to underestimate the harm they
are causing the victim
• Large audience
• No escape
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RISK FACTORS FOR ENGAGING IN
BULLYING
Some kids who bully have poor social skills, but
others are perceived to be popular, attractive leaders.
More likely to have witnessed or experienced bullying
or aggression by family members
More likely to have personality traits or
temperaments that make them prone to aggression,
lower in empathy, or low in impulsivity.
Have trouble managing emotions
Have problem-solving deficits
KIDS Have more academic problems
WHO
BULLY… Have more relationship problems
Are at greater risk of engaging in more serious
violence if they bully physically
Are at risk for anxiety/depression if they bully
relationally
HOW DO WE PREVENT
BULLYING?
Invest in multiyear, multi-component programs
Coordinate classroom, school- & community-
wide efforts
Teach social-emotional skills directly in real
context
Foster respectful, supportive relations among
students, school staff, & parents
Support & reinforce positive academic & social
behavior through comprehensive systems
(Bradshaw, 2018; Gottfredson et al., 2004; Greenberg et al., 2003; Rones & Hoagwood, 2000)
AGGRESSION AND BULLYING
PREVENTION PROGRAMMING
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Headaches and stomachaches
Trouble sleeping
RECOGNIZE
SIGNS THAT School avoidance
A CHILD IS Declining grades
BEING Complaints about peers
BULLIED Avoiding lunch & recess
Unexplained bruises or injuries
Sadness, Loneliness, Depression
POSSIBLE Anxiety
OUTCOMES
FOR KIDS Poor Self-Esteem
WHO ARE School Avoidance
BULLIED
Symptoms of PTSD
Suicidal thoughts or actions
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
• Bullying is less harmful to...
• Youth with high academic achievement
• Youth with better coping and problem-
solving skills
• Youth with high familial support and
structure
• Youth with less family conflict
• These kids are also less likely to be
perpetrators of bullying
• Also, perpetration is lower in kids who
feel connected to their school/teachers/
parents
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BULLYING AND SUICIDALITY
Bullying, Depression, and Suicide Risk in a Pediatric Primary Care
Sample (Kodish, Herres, Shearer, Atte, Fein & Diamond, 2016)
5400 teens completed a behavioral health screener
Found that all forms of bullying were significantly associated with
suicidality
The relationship between bullying and suicidality was moderated by
depression
Verbal/relational bullying was the most strongly related to suicidality
and suicide attempts
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REDUCING SUICIDE RISK
Individual Protective Factors
• Effective coping and problem-solving skills
• Reasons for living/hope (for example, family,
friends, pets, etc.)
• Strong sense of cultural identity
Relationship Protective Factors
• Support from partners, friends, and family
• Feeling connected to others
Community Protective Factors
• Feeling connected to school, community, and
other social institutions
• Availability of consistent and high quality
physical and behavioral healthcare
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Physicians, NP’s, and RN’s play an
important role in supporting youth
with bullying
• Screening, asking, and looking out for
signs of distress
• Gathering information on the bullying
• Giving emotional support and advice
• Connecting kids and families to supports
and resources
• Contacting school leaders to advocate for
both bullies and victims to get appropriate
support
FOR PROVIDERS:
ASSESSING FOR BULLYING
Take time to ask about patients’ experiences with
peer aggression and bullying, both as perpetrators
and victims
Questions to ask:
• How do you get along with other kids?
• Do you have good friends at school or in your
neighborhood?
• Is there a lot of aggression and bullying at your
school? Has it happened to you? If so, in what
way?
• Are you ever aggressive to other kids at school?
• How long has it been going on?
• How have you handled it so far?
Say, “I can understand why you’re
aggressive sometimes, but I’d like to
Say
help you find other ways of handling
things.”
Find out about the child’s strengths
HELPING Talk
and interests.
KIDS
WHO Encourage child to use more positive
BULLY Encourage coping techniques and involve parent
in conversation
Connect child with a mentor or
counselor to work on coping skills,
Connect
emotional or behavioral regulation,
social skills
Talk with youth about their experiences:
Connect Stay calm, listen carefully and offer
support
Validate their feelings and let them
HELPING Validate know that they deserve to be treated
KIDS WHO with respect/feel safe
HAVE BEEN Find out when, where, and how long it
has gone on.
BULLIED Assess
Consider the child and family’s
resources/resilience/ability to advocate
Involve Involve the child in planning a response
APPLYING THE 6 TRAUMA-INFORMED
PRACTICE PRINCIPLES
How can you work toward these ideals in your
response to a child who is being bullied?
• Safety – mutually defined by you and the child
• Trustworthiness & Transparency – organizational
operations and decisions are conducted with
transparency to build trust
• Peer Support – and mutual self-help are key for
establishing safety and hope
Collaboration & Mutuality – importance placed on
partnering and minimizing power differences between staff
& child with trauma; give choices, find out the child’s goals
Empowerment, Voice and Choice – child’s strengths and
experiences are recognized and built upon. Shared decision
making, choices
Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues – the organization
moves past cultural stereotypes and biases. Policies and
practices are responsive to gender, racial, ethnic and
cultural needs of individuals, recognizing historical trauma.
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SUPPORTIVE
NEXT STEPS:
Encourage youth/parent to report bullying to the
school, while also assessing the risks
Identify adults who can help ensure the child’s
safety
Encourage them to reach out to teachers,
counselor and principal
Help family decide if the child would benefit
from supportive counseling
Encourage the child to engage in positive
activities and friendships
HOW CAN WE SOFTEN OR COUNTER THE
IMPACT OF TRAUMA FROM BULLYING?
Resilience experts recommend…
• Continuous contact with and support
from important people in child’s life
• Disclosing the trauma to loved ones
• Identifying as a survivor as opposed to
a victim
• Use of positive emotion and laughter
• Finding positive meaning in the trauma
• Helping others in their healing process
WHAT FAMILIES CAN ASK OF
THE SCHOOL
• An investigation!
• A written safety plan, naming one or two
adults the child can check in with each day
• Environmental changes/interventions that
could stop the bullying
• Add supervision at bathroom or recess
• Move seats in the lunchroom
• Switch classroom for victim or bully
• Arrange early dismissal to minimize
contact
• Avoid holding a meeting between the bully
and child who was targeted.
TIPS FOR REPORTING BULLYING
Advise kids/parents to gather evidence (e.g., photos, screenshots)
Put concerns in writing as opposed to a phone call
Keep copies of communication with school staff (dates, content)
If principal is not responsive, contact district’s Supervisor of Student
Services or Supervisor of Special Education Services, when relevant.
If school is not taking action, provide parent with district phone
numbers or state hotline
Cyberbullying, Physical assaults, and Harassment based on disability,
race, gender or sexual identity can be reported to the police
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RESPONDING TO CYBERBULLYING
• Tell kids to take a break from their phone or
computer. Ignore the attack and walk away from
the cyberbully.
• Teach kids not to respond or
retaliate. Cyberbullies want to get a reaction,
so don’t give it to them!
• Block the bully. If they get mean messages
through IM or a social-networking site, tell them
to take the person off their friends list or use the
app to block them.
• Save and print out bullying messages. Save the
evidence. This is important proof to show
parents, teachers, or law enforcement.
• Encourage them to talk about it. When someone
makes you feel bad, it can help to talk the
situation over with a friend or trusted adult.
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HOW TO REPORT CYBERBULLYING?
• Social media sites such as Instagram
and Snapchat have gotten more serious about
helping users who have been targeted by
bullies.
• If a student is bullied on a website or in an app,
they can go to the company’s site and look for a
section offering support, such as “Community
Guidelines,” “Safety Center,” “Parent Info,” etc.
It may make recommendations such as blocking
the bully or changing the setting for who can
contact you.
• If a student is bullied or harassed over text
message, they can call the mobile phone
provider to report the number and block it.
Many carriers offer additional anti-bullying
features for a fee.
• If the communication contains threats, you can
report it to law enforcement.
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NEW JERSEY RESOURCES
• https://www.nj.gov/education/safety/sandp
/hib/docs/HIB_Incident_Form_ForFamilie
s.pdf
https://www.nj.gov/education/safety/sandp/hib/docs/HIB_Incident_
Form_ForFamilies.pdf
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A “GEBSER LETTER”
THREATENS LEGAL ACTION
*Google “Gebser Letter” to see an example
https://adayinourshoes.com/wp-content/uploads/Sample-Gebser-Letter.pdf
Dear x: {superintendent and each school board member, special ed director,
etc. I am writing on behalf of my child, [insert name, dob] who is a {insert
protected class here-race, disability, etc.} student attending (name of school) in
the School District. S/he is being discriminated against and bullied repeatedly
during her school days. {insert how the discrimination excluded your child from
continued participation in school or denied your child the benefits to which
other students in school have access, and be specific} This is prohibiting her
from being able to access her education by/because {insert how it is interfering
with her education}
(Your) school district receives federal funds for which it contracts to not
discriminate. You have the authority to investigate and correct this
discrimination. You have control over the site and personnel where the
discrimination occurs. If you do not investigate and correct the problem, we
may claim that you and the district are deliberately indifferent to the
discrimination. If you do not correct unlawful discrimination, you may be liable
personally for damages, and the school district may also be liable for damages.
Barriers to helping kids deal with
Bullying
The child may be afraid to report the bullying
Adults may not know what to do
We may not have the power to stop the bullying
The school environment may be chaotic, which enables bullying to continue
Other adults in the child’s life may not take the bullying seriously
What other barriers have you
experienced?
CASE EXAMPLE 1
During a visit, your adolescent patient
groans, slouches, and says hopelessly: “A
new school year, back to the bullying…”
When you ask what she means, she says that
she’s been bullied by several different kids
over the past two years of middle school. She
strikes you as very socially awkward.
Discuss: What’s challenging about this
situation? What can you do or offer this
patient?
CASE EXAMPLE 2
• A 14-year-old patient presents with
depression and possible PTSD symptoms
after being assaulted outside his school by
three boys from his grade. Other kids filmed
the incident and posted it online. He got
beaten up pretty badly and was diagnosed
with a concussion at the ER.
• What could you say to this teen and his
parent/caregiver? What resources would
you recommend?
CASE EXAMPLE 3
• During an initial visit you ask whether your
9-year-old patient has experienced any
bullying. His mother responds that he came
home upset last week because two other
kids were making fun of him for being
overweight. The mother isn’t sure how many
times this may have happened.
• How could you help the boy handle this
experience? How should he respond to his
peers? What would this depend on?
For more information, please visit
https://violence.chop.edu. Stay in the know on CVP
by subscribing to our Research in Action blog and
following us on Twitter @CVPatCHOP
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LINKS
• CVP website:
https://violence.chop.edu/
• CVP’s Bullying Prevention Programs, including Friend to
Friend and PRAISE violence.chop.edu/research-and-
programs/bullying-prevention
• Educational fact sheets on bullying
violence.chop.edu/violence-prevention-tools
• Bullying prevention resources for families
violence.chop.edu/bullying-prevention-resources
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THANK YOU!
I would like to acknowledge my
colleagues at CHOP’s Center for
Violence Prevention whose work
has informed this presentation:
Stephen Leff, PhD and Tracy
Waasdorp, PhD.
• FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS? CONTACT
CHRISTINE WAANDERS AT
[email protected]48
