Adolescent Characteristics, Suicide, and Bullying in High School

Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011–2017 data were examined for associations among high school population subsets who self-reported suicide risk behaviors and experiences with bullying. High-school students who reported suicidal risk behaviors were 4.64 times more likely to have experienced bullying electronically. Ninth grade and female students were more likely than others to experience suicide risk behaviors and bullying. At the interpersonal level, school nurses are able to identify students who are experiencing bullying and who exhibit suicide risk behaviors. At the systems level, bullying prevention efforts should target all students. School nurses, administrators, policy makers, and health providers should consider data-driven recommendations in bullying prevention programs.

Perceptions of Bullying amongst Spanish Preschool and Primary Schoolchildren with the Use of Comic Strips: Practical and Theoretical Implications

Bullying research among preschoolers and the early grades of primary school is still scarce. With the aid of a set of cartoons representing prototypical bullying scenes, we interview 120 schoolchildren (50% girls) from kindergarten to third grade (age range: 5.44–9.58) from three mainstream public schools located in the eastern Community of Madrid, in order to analyse their perceptions regarding this phenomenon. Results show that 94.2% (n = 113) of schoolchildren are able to recognize when a partner is victimized. Nevertheless, significant differences were found by grade (p = 0.017), with kindergarteners giving more responses classified as one-off aggressions. Most students (n = 102) empathize with the victims´ emotions and condemn the bullies’ behavior, regardless of their gender (p = 0.637) or grade (p = 0.578). A total of 53.9% (n = 64) of students think these bullying situations are partly caused by previous conflicts; girls are inclined to think this more often than boys (p = 0.003). Furthermore, 53.8% (n = 64) of the students would request help from their schoolteachers if they were bullied, with no statistically significant differences by gender (p = 0.254) or by grade (p = 0.133). These results serve as a rationale to develop bullying prevention programs from a very early school age to provide information regarding its causation and coping strategies, among others.

Evaluation of the effectiveness and satisfaction of the Learning to Forgive Program for the prevention of bullying

Introduction. Two pioneering studies in Spain are presented on the Learning to Forgive program inspired by the research of Robert Enright and his team, pioneers in the education of forgiveness. Study 1 aims to analyze whether teacher training in the Learning to Forgive Program increases their knowledge of forgiveness and Study 2 evaluates the satisfaction of the program for teenagers. Method. In Study 1, the sample consisted of 88 primary and secondary school teachers, distributed in an experimental group (n = 63) and a control group (n = 25), belonging to 11 educational centers, and in Study 2 the sample consisted of 153 students belonging to 4 educational centers. Results. In Study 1, statistically significant improvements were found in the forgiveness group regarding their knowledge of forgiveness and marginally significant in emotional forgiveness compared to the control group. In Study 2 participants noted, among other data, high satisfaction with the program and that it had helped them forgive in a remarkable way. Discussion and Conclusion. In line with other studies, it is recommended to incorporate education in forgiveness into bullying prevention programs.

Use of a Mixed-Methods Approach to Evaluate the Implementation of Violence and Bullying Prevention Programs in Schools

School violence and bullying are considered a serious concern worldwide. Evidence shows that applying the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework could be effective in reducing school bullying. While there have been significant efforts to evaluate school-based anti-bullying interventions in the world, the implementation process and the effectiveness of this framework in reducing bullying in schools have not been previously evaluated in Iran. This mixed methods study was carried out using simultaneously a cross-sectional (900 students, 104, teachers/school executive staff, and 563 parents) and qualitative study (24 policy makers and teachers/school executive staff) to examine the implementation and effect of counseling and mental health services component of the Iranian Health Promoting School (IHPS) in 2017–2018. Results revealed that there were weaknesses in the implementation of all six elements of anti-bullying programs. A lack of any clean policy toward school violence and bullying, lack of priority set by local decision makers and principals of schools, logistical problems with providing training and supplying counseling resources, limited funding, and presence of competing issues and problems facing the schools were identified as barriers to implement violence and bullying prevention programs in schools. Results also showed that there were no significant differences between non-IHPS and IHPS in students’ bullying behaviors ( p = .228) and scores of leadership, the school environment, capacity, partnership, services and support, and evidence ( p > .05). It is essential to revise the content and how to implement anti-bullying programs in schools.

Preventing Bullying in Schools

Bullying is a problem that can impact perpetrators, victims, and bystanders in terms of their mental illness and mental wellness. In this chapter, the authors first define bullying and summarize its impact. The emphasis of the chapter is on universal and targeted prevention of bullying in schools following a public health framework. The authors provide evidence for the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs and policies, as well as universal and targeted prevention approaches to teach and reinforce positive behavior and social-emotional skills. Targeted approaches for perpetrators and victims of bullying are described. These concepts are illustrated in a case study of a school district’s comprehensive approach to bullying prevention and intervention. The chapter concludes with a table of recommendations for practice.