Whole‐school antibullying interventions: A systematic review of 20 years of publications

Abstract

A systematic literature review on whole-school antibullying interventions was conducted. Twelve databases were consulted, considering as inclusion criteria: scientific article, published between 1998 and June 2018, in English or Portuguese, describing empirical studies on whole-school antibullying interventions. Seventeen studies were analyzed, indicating that the interventions had the reduction of bullying prevalence as main goal, and secondary goals as improvements in reporting bullying occurrences, bullying identification, and attitudes toward bullying. Six interventions had experimental designs, five were quasiexperimental, and six were preexperimental. Data collection in 14 studies involved exclusively students, in two studies measurements also encompassed teachers, and one study applied questionnaires to parents only. Intervention effects on bullying prevalence were inconsistent, with eight studies finding significant decreases in bullying involvement, while seven studies did not show significant effects on bullying prevalence or found negative results, such as an increase of its prevalence. However, the interventions had significant positive effects on increasing the reporting of bullying occurrences, attitudes toward bullying, and perceived peer and teacher intervention. Thus, whole-school antibullying interventions, incorporating multiple strategies and targeting multiple individuals, should be encouraged to address the complexity of bullying.

Does paternal acceptance buffer the effect of maternal rejection on victimization in early adolescents? A short-term longitudinal study

“…At the practical level the study shows that anti-bullying programs might also consider focusing their attention on the mother-child and the father-child relationship which seems to be a crucial factor in victimization involvement. In the light of the present findings, the whole-school approaches in anti-bullying efforts would benefit greatly by including seminars and workshops to parents, or group parent-child sessions in cases of severely deteriorated maternal or paternal relationships (Valle et al, 2020). In addition, practitioners involved in programs relating to children with problematic child-mother relationships might also consider focussing their efforts specifically on the paternal relationship, which seems to be in position to counteract the effect of maternal rejection on children's problematic behaviors.…”

Do Neighbors Have More Peaceful Students? Youth Violence Profiles among Adolescents in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia

“…Secondly, it also has to be taken into consideration that the scientific interpretation of bullying (that is used in large-scale studies) is not necessarily the definition or the interpretation children use when they have to make decisions concerning their involvement [9,[39][40][41]. The willingness to report about possible perpetration or victimization may depend on age, study methodology, social consciousness about bullying, and also on the presence or absence of antibullying prevention programs [42,43]. According to a meta-analysis, the antibullying interventions have significant positive effects on increasing the reporting of bullying occurrences [44].…”

Relationships and sexuality education: Key research informing New Zealand curriculum policy

“…Significant international research suggests that a whole school approach is especially well suited to addressing bullying, discrimination and inclusion (Fenaughty, 2019; Valle et al, 2020), encouraging recognition that responsibility for tackling these issues is a whole school responsibility (Allen, 2020; Brömdal et al, 2017; Rasmussen et al, 2017). In relation to the serious and important issues of bullying and discrimination, the RSE policies provide specific guidance for schools to create inclusive policies, practices and programmes.…”