Cyberbullying among school-aged children has received increased attention in recent literature. However, no empirical evidence currently exists on whether existing school-based antibullying programs are effective in targeting the unique aspects of cyberbullying. To address this important gap, the present study investigates the unique effects of the KiVa Antibullying Program on the frequency of cyberbullying and cybervictimization among elementary and middle school youth. Using data from a group randomized controlled trial, multilevel ordinal regression analyses were used to examine differences in the frequencies of cyberbullying and cybervictimization between intervention (N = 9,914) and control students (N = 8,498). The effects of age and gender on frequencies of cyber behaviors were also assessed across conditions. Results revealed a significant intervention effect on the frequency of cybervictimization; KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cybervictimization at posttest than students in a control condition. The effect of condition on the perpetration of cyberbullying was moderated by age. When student age was below the sample mean, KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cyberbullying than students in the control condition. We also found evidence of classroom level variation in cyberbullying and cybervictimization, suggesting cyberbullying is in part a classroom-level phenomenon. KiVa appears to be an efficacious program to address cyber forms of bullying and victimization. We discuss several unique aspects of KiVa that may account for the significant intervention effects. Results suggest that KiVa is an intervention option for schools concerned with reducing cyberbullying behavior and its deleterious effects on children's adjustment.

We used data from a randomized clinical trial to examine the degree to which relationship quality predicted outcomes for aggressive children in two different mentoring programs. Data were available for 145 aggressive children in grades 2 and 3. Children were blocked by school and randomly assigned to PrimeTime (n = 75) or Lunch Buddy (n = 70) programs. PrimeTime combined community-based mentoring with child-focused skills training and consultation for parents and teachers, and mentors were extensively trained and supervised. Lunch Buddy was a stand-alone, school-based mentoring program that involved lunchtime visits and a different mentor each semester. PrimeTime children rated their mentors as more supportive than did Lunch Buddy children. Relationship conflict predicted changes in teacher-rated externalizing problems. Ratings of relationship quality interacted with treatment in predicting changes in parent-rated externalizing behavior for PrimeTime children only. Keywordsaggression; child; mentor; externalizing; relationship Youth mentoring, the pairing of a volunteer mentor with a child or adolescent at risk, is often touted as an effective prevention tool (Armstrong, 2000;Dortch, 2000). Some have portrayed mentoring as a proven method for reducing youth violence and preventing juvenile delinquency (e.g., McGill, Mihalic, & Grotpeter, 1997). Unfortunately, the practice and promotion of youth mentoring has outpaced its empirical support (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). The need for research evidence is particularly acute for programs that target aggressive children and antisocial youth (Blechman & Bopp, 2005;Cavell & Smith, 2005;McClanahan, 2007). Relationship factors are thought to be critical to the success of youth mentoring (e.g., DuBois, Neville, Parra, & Pugh-Lilly, 2002;Parra, DuBois, Neville, Pugh-Lilly, & Povinelli, 2002;Rhodes, 2002Rhodes, , 2005Spencer, 2006), but few studies have examined the role of relationship quality in programs for highly aggressive, school age children.The development of effective interventions for aggression in children is critical. The developmental trajectory of aggressive children is fairly stable, multiply determined, and predictive of serious maladaptive outcomes (Broidy, Nagin, & Tremblay, 2003;Loeber, 1990;Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992). Aggressive school age children are early starters on a developmental path toward later delinquency (Patterson et al., 1992). Commonly recommended interventions are behavior management training for parents and social problem solving skills training (PSST) for children (Cavell, Hymel, Malcolm, & Seay, 2006), with some evidence for blending the two interventions (e.g., Kazdin, Seigel, & Bass, 1992).More than 4500 organizations in the United States offer youth mentoring (Rhodes, 2002), and roughly half of all mentoring programs appeared in the last 10-15 years (Sipe & Roder, 1999). Youth mentoring is often cast as an effective but inexpensive remedy for the problems that face at-risk youth (e.g., Dortch, 2000). Proponents point to stu...

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Children not accepted or actively rejected by peers are at greater risk for peer victimization. We examined whether a positive teacher-student relationship can potentially buffer these children from the risk of peer victimization. Participants were 361 elementary school children in the 4th or 5th grade. Peer-report measures were used to assess teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ), social preference, and rejected sociometric status; peer victimization was assessed via self-, peer-, and teacher-reports. As expected, social preference assessed in the fall semester was a significant negative predictor of self- and peer-reported victimization measured in the spring, controlling for prior levels of peer victimization. TSRQ in the fall was not a significant unique predictor of self-, peer-, or teacher-reported victimization the following spring, controlling for fall victimization and social preference scores. We found a significant interaction between social preference and TSRQ in predicting self-, peer-, and teacher-reported peer victimization: Social preference significantly predicted peer victimization, but only for those children with relatively poor student-teacher relationships. Subgroup analysis revealed that children actively rejected by peers in the fall reported significantly less peer victimization in the spring (controlling for fall victimization scores) when their fall TSRQ scores were at or above the sample mean compared to rejected children whose TSRQ scores were low (i.e., < -0.5 SD below the mean). Findings offer preliminary support for the notion that teacher-student relationship quality can buffer children at social risk for continued peer victimization.

We examined the degree to which children with and without a history of stable peer victimization differentially endorse strategies for dealing with school bullies. Participants were 323 children, 58 of whom met criteria for chronic peer victimization. Children with a history of stable peer victimization differed from comparison children in how they rated various strategies, but the findings were gender specific. Chronically bullied girls were less inclined to endorse any strategy (coercive or noncoercive), whereas chronically bullied boys generally endorsed adult-recommended strategies. However, strategy endorsement for boys was associated with greater levels of peer victimization in the following grade. Discussed is the complex role of interpersonal strategies in affecting change in bullied children's victimization experiences and the implications for intervening on behalf of chronically bullied children.