Amanda Nickerson, PhDAssociate Professor and Director

Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse PreventionUniversity at Buffalo

alberticenter@buffalo.edugse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

UB Employee Assistance Program WorkshopDecember 13, 2011

Participants will:• Define and recognize bullying

• Learn about the role of bullies, targets, peers (bystanders), schools, and families

• Identify strategies that parents can use to prevent and intervene in bullying situations

Intentional, usually repeated acts of verbal, physical, or written aggression by a peer (or group of peers) operating from a position of strength or power with the goal of hurting the victim physically or damaging status and/or social reputation

Olweus (1978); United States Department of Education (1998)

Physical bullying• punching, shoving, acts that hurt people

Verbal bullying• name calling, making offensive remarks

Indirect bullying• spreading rumors, excluding, ganging up

Cyber bullying• sending insulting messages, pictures or threats

by e-mail, text messaging, chat rooms

Hinduja & Patchin (2009)

Teasing: Fun, good-natured, “give-and-take” between friends to get both parties to laugh

Bullying: Based on a power imbalance; intent to cause psychological or physical harm; usually repeated

Conflict: A struggle, dispute, or misunderstanding between two equal forces

Estimates vary WIDELY, but according to student self-report...•20-25% have bullied at least once5-20% bully consistently

•15-40% are targets of bullying20-25% are bullied regularly~ 10-40% are cyber-bullied1-2% are extreme victims who experience severe traumatization or distress

Carylyle & Steinman (2007); Cowie (2000); Hindjua & Patchin (2010); Nansel et al. (2001); Perry, Kusel, & Perry (1988); Skiba & Fontanini (2000)

Pre-K through late high school (and beyond); peaks in middle school • Physical bullying declines as children get older• Social, verbal, and cyberbullying continue

through high school

Anywhere; most likely in less closely supervised areas • Bus, locker room, playground,

lunch, hallways, and everywhere(for cyberbullying)

Boys• More direct, physical bullying• Bully more frequently than girls• Bully both boys and girls

Girls• More indirect • More subtle, hard to detect, and often occurs in

groups• Tend to target other girls of the same age• Cyberbullying slightly more common than for

males

Banks (2000); Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim, & Sadek, (2010); Crick & Grotpeter, (1995); Hinduja & Patchi (2009); Hoover & Oliver, (1996); Nansel et al., (2001); Olweus, (2002);

Underwood, (2003)

Culture & Community

School (Staff/Peers) Family Bully, Target, and

Bystander

Adapted from Swearer & Espelage (2004)

Desire for power and control Get satisfaction from others’ suffering Justify their behavior (“he deserved it”) More exposed to physical punishment More likely to be depressed Engage in other risky and delinquent

behaviors•Alcohol and drug use•Fighting

Batsche & Knoff (1994); Beaver, Perron, & Howard, (2010); Olweus (1993); Swearer et al. (in press); Vaughn, Bender, DeLisi, (in press)

Refer to others negatively (wimp, loser) Lack empathy Strong need to get his or her own way Hostile/defiant attitude Anger easily Deny involvement or blame others when

behavior addressed

Have a position of relative weakness•Age, ethnic background, financial status, disability, sexual orientation

Most are passive and lack assertiveness•Do nothing to invite aggression•Do not fight back when attacked•May relate better to adults than peers

Fewer provoke others (provocative victims or bully-victims)•Offend, irritate, tease others•Reactive; fight back when attacked

Boivin, Poulin, & Vitaro (1994); Hodges & Perry (1999); Olweus (1978, 1993, 2001); Schwartz (2000); Snyder et al. (2003)

Unexplained illnesses, cuts/bruises

Not want to go to school or be in social situations

Any change in behavior • Not interested in doing things he/she used to like doing• Withdrawn

More likely to experience legal or criminal troubles as adults (even after controlling for other risk factors)

Poor ability to develop and maintain positive relationships in later life

Andershed, Kerr, & Stattin (2001); Farrington (2009);Farrington, & Ttofi (2009, 2011); Oliver, Hoover, & Hazler

(1994); Olweus (1993); Ttofi & Farrington (2008)

Emotional distress Loneliness, peer rejection Desire to avoid school Increased anxiety, depression, suicidal

ideation; low self-esteem In some cases, may respond with extreme

violence

Boivin, Hymel, & Bukowski (1995); Boulton & Underwood (1992);Crick & Bigbee (1998); Egan & Perry (1998); Hinduja, & Patchin, (2009);Kochenderfer & Ladd (1996);Nickerson & Sltater (2009);Olweus (1993); Perry et al. (1988)

Peers see 85% of bullying (most join in, some ignore, small number intervene)

Peers are influential in early adolescence, when they are more supportive of bullying and less likely to intervene• Bullying = higher social status in a group• Adolescents seek out peers who display more

independent, aggressive as opposed to more adult-like, conforming behaviors

• “Culture of silence”

Charach et al. (1995); Hawkins, Pepler, & Craig

Bullying is more likely to thrive in:• Unsupportive or unhealthy school climates• Environments lacking in sense of belonging for students

and strong relationships among and between students, teachers, and families

• Schools where adults ignore or dismiss bullying behaviors• Schools who serve students who are not academically

engaged

Doll, Song, Champion, & Jones, (2011); Holt, Keyes, & Koenig, (2011); Kasen, Johnson, Chen, Crawford, & Cohen, (2011); Swearer (in press)

LEADERSHIP IS CRITICAL!!!

Often not involved in bullying problem or resolution• Intervene less than 10% of the time• Not told about problem (victims fear

reprisal)

Powerful influence on peer acceptance of others• Warmth, positive feedback leads to greater

peer acceptance

Banks (1997); Chang (2003); Cohn & Canter (2002); Hughes, Cavell, & Willson (2001); Limber (2002);

Mullin-Rindler (2003); Skiba & Fonanini (2000); White, Sherman, & Jones (1996)

For children who bully, there may be…• Less warmth, involvement, supervision• Lack of clear, consistent rules• Harsh/corporal punishment• Parental discord• Domestic violence/child abuse

For children who are bullied, there may be…• More intense, overprotective parenting (for

boys) • Threats of rejection and lack of assertion (for

girls)• Inconsistent discipline practices (overprotective

and neglectful) without warmth for bully-victims For children who intervene, there may be…

• More open, trusting relationships with mothersBowers et al. (1994); Finnegan et al. (1998); Ladd & Ladd (1998);

Nickerson, Mele, & Princiotta (2008); Olweus, Limber, & Mihalic (1999)

What Can We Do?We must not, in trying to think about how we

can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add

up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

Marian Wright EdelmanFounder and President of the Children's Defense Fund

Model treating others with dignity and respect• Avoid using derogatory terms towards others

(gay, retard, wimp)

Watch (and listen) in social interactions Have high expectations for behavior

and a low tolerance for being mean

Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes. - Chinese Proverb

Visit gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenterfor other resources and conversation starters

Don’t join in…speak up if it is safe to do so Band together as a group against bullies Tell an adult about the bullying

•Tattling = telling adult to get someone in trouble

•Telling = telling an adult because someone’s behavior is unsafe or hurtful to another

Reach out to isolated peers, offer support See http://wearethesolution.net/

Interventioncentral.org

Having a close friend and being liked decreases likelihood of victimization

Friends can buffer against negative effects of bullying

Hodges, Boivin, Vitaro, and Bukowski (1999); Hodges, Malone, & Perry (1997); Pellegrini, Bartini, and Brooks (1999)

Teach responsible use of technology

• Written communication – can be traced

• Only communicate things that you would be OK about your parents seeing

• Follow rules (no Facebook under age of 13)

• Beware of anonymous sites like Formspring

• Use the “off” switch Do not respond to upsetting

communications

Supervise and limit activities (no 24/7)• Have computers in common areas (not in

bedroom)• Know child’s password• Be friend on Facebook• Bring cell phones, computers to parents’ room

to charge overnight

Consider contracts www.cyberbullying.us for examples

FROM THE MOUTHS OF YOUTH http://www.pacer.org/bullying/video/player.asp?video=24

Listen • “Tell me what happened”

Empathize with feeling• “That must have been very scary for you”

Take it seriously • Do not minimize or trivialize

Work with child to problem-solve• Simple responses like “just ignore it,” “give him a good whack”

Work in partnership with school! Follow-up

Focus on the behavior (not on the child as a person)• Apply logical, meaningful consequences

Work with school to develop plan• Increase empathy and perspective taking• Teach problem-solving to manage emotions• Cognitive restructuring for problematic

attributions (e.g., “He deserved it;” “Now they know who is in charge”)

• Assess for other problems (e.g., drugs, suicidality)

Try to keep emotions in check and avoid placing blame when contacting school

Explain the situation, its effect, your child’s concern, and your desire to work with the school to address the issue

Ask what you can do to help

Follow-up and document

Local Resources for Families Catholic Charities – 218-1400 Child & Adolescent Treatment Services Intake – 835-7807 Child & Family Services – 842-750 Prevention Focus/Teen Focus – 884-3256 Erie County Council for the Prevention of Alcohol & Substance Abuse – 831-2298 Mental Health Association of Erie County – 886-1242

Referrals for Students in Crisis1-800-273-TALK (Suicide Lifeline)1-866-4-U-Trevor (LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline)716-834-1144 or 1-877-KIDS-400 (Buffalo Crisis Services Hotline)

Thank you for your attention and interest!

For more resources, please visit us at gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

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