Evaluation of a Brief, School-Based Bystander Bullying Intervention: A Pilot Study Conducted at an Ethnically-Blended, Low-Income School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to adapt a brief, bystander bullying intervention to be culturally appropriate for ethnicallyblended schools in low-income communities and to assess the social validity of the adapted intervention. A mixed-methods design with sequential sampling was used to collect qualitative data from focus groups and quantitative survey data. The researchers used Consensual Qualitative Research to analyze qualitative data and chi square analyses and independent sample t-tests to analyzed qualitative data. Students (N = 40) from an ethnically-blended school (i.e., predominantly White and Hispanic students) in a low-income community were trained in the bystander bullying program. The 90-minute training includes a didactic and experiential component. The didactic component includes information about bullying and strategies students can use to intervene when they witness bullying. The experiential component includes small group activities and role-plays in which students practice utilizing the strategies. We used a phased research approach to meet the study aims. In Phase 1, students participated in focus groups after receiving the bystander training. Qualitative themes that emerged from the focus groups included students’ experiences with bullying, including types of bullying and reasons why students bully, negative emotions associated with bullying, fears related to reporting bullying to adults, and positive reactions to the intervention. In Phase 2, we adapted the intervention based on information from a literature search and feedback from participants in Phase 1. In Phase 3, we trained a new group of students (N = 63) in the adapted intervention to evaluate the intervention’s social validity. Results indicated students perceived the adapted intervention as appropriate and relevant for their school, with no differences between White and Hispanic students. This study serves as a first step in developing a culturally appropriate intervention designed to address bullying-related health disparities for students attending an ethnically-blended school in a low-income community

Evaluation of a Brief, Bystander Bullying Intervention (STAC) for Ethnically Blended Middle Schools in Low-Income Communities

“…That is, we found no differences in the reduction of bullying victimization or bias-based bullying victimization between White students and students of color. Consistent with preliminary research indicating that the adapted STAC intervention is appropriate for both White and Hispanic students (Midgett et al, 2020, the results of this study suggest the culturally adapted STAC intervention is effective in reducing bullying victimization and bias-based bullying victimization for all students, not just students of one racial/ethnic background. At baseline, White students reported a significantly higher frequency of bullying victimization than students of color.…”

“…Findings from two pilot studies support the cultural validity of the adapted STAC intervention for students attending ethnically blended middle schools in low-income communities (Midgett et al, 2020;Moran et al, 2020). The majority of students (85%) indicated that the adapted program was culturally relevant and that the language and examples reflected what they observe at school (Midgett et al, 2020).…”

“…However, Salmivalli (2014) found that only approximately 20% of students intervened in prosocial ways when observing bullying. Even though bystanders were successful when intervening 57% of the time (Hawkins et al, 2001), bystanders may not act because they lack the confidence (Midgett et al, 2020) or skills to intervene (Forsberg et al, 2014; Hutchinson, 2012). Thus, there is a need for bullying programs that teach student bystanders to intervene.…”

The association between witnessing cyberbullying and depressive symptoms and social anxiety among elementary school students

“…Further, approximately 55% of students do nothing when they witness cyberbullying (Olenik-Shemesh et al, 2015). Passive bystander behavior has been linked to moral disengagement (Hymel et al, 2005), diffusion of responsibility (Bjärehed et al, 2020), low defender self-efficacy (Sjögren et al, 2020), and a lack of confidence (Midgett, Doumas, Moran, et al, 2020), knowledge, or skills to intervene (Forsberg et al, 2014;Hutchinson, 2012), and not knowing what to do (Bauman et al, 2020). These factors may play an even greater role in cyberbullying due to the lack of social-emotional cues (Knauf et al, 2018;Runions & Bak, 2015), physical distance (Knauf et al, 2018), and ease of disseminating communication via social networks (Runions & Bak, 2015).…”

Witnessing Cyberbullying and Internalizing Symptoms among Middle School Students

“…For example, in face-to-face bullying, bystanders are usually present, whereas in the case of cyberbullying, the bystander may witness the bullying while it is occurring or after the fact (e.g., a message is forwarded to them) [11]. Further, passive bystander behavior has been linked to moral disengagement [29,30], diffusion of responsibility [31], and a lack of confidence [32], knowledge, or skills to intervene [23,33]. These factors may play an even greater role in cyberbullying due to the lack of social-emotional cues [34,35], physical distance, real or perceived anonymity [34], and ease of disseminating communication via social networks [35].…”