How to prevent it?

Article 1

Title:  PARENTING SCIENCE

Author:  Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

Permanent link to this record:

http://www.parentingscience.com/how-to-prevent-bullying.html

How to prevent bullying: Some research-based suggestions

Stop bullying incidents in progress and make it clear that bullying will not be tolerated.

Adults need to take a stand. Even kids can stop a bullying incident in progress.

In one study, 57% of bullying incidents on an elementary school playground ceased within 10 seconds of another child getting involved—by either verbally or physically defending the victim (Hawkins, Pepler and Craig, 2001).

Screen bullies for psychiatric conditions.

As suggested by psychiatrist and bullying researcher Andre Sourander, kids who frequently bully others should be screened for other psychological and behavioral problems (Sourander et al 2007). If bullies have psychiatric problems, they should be treated for them in an appropriate setting. Let’s stop asking teachers to perform as therapists.

Teach moral values and teach kids about moral disengagement.

Bullies harbor anti-social beliefs and rationalizations that make it easier for them to behave in cruel or callous ways.

Bullies may also suffer from disillusionment about human nature.

And everybody-—including kids and adult bystanders—-might rely on mechanisms of moral disengagement to avoid getting involved and speaking up for victims.

If we’re going to introduce new curricula to the schools, perhaps these curricula should emphasize ethics.

For more details about this research--and insights into how to prevent bullying--see this article on Machiavellian beliefs.

Help aggressive kids re-interpret the apparently “hostile” intentions of others.

Research suggests that it can be done. In a controlled, experimental study, primary school boys were enrolled in a training program designed to teach kids to avoid attributing hostile intentions to peers.

After the intervention, boys who had been identified as aggressive showed marked improvements. Teachers rated them as less aggressive, and, when tested, the boys were less likely to assume hostile intentions in ambiguous situations (Hudley and Graham 1993).

How to prevent bullying through stress management.

Research has identified effective relaxation therapies and stress management techniques. Bully/victims with clinically high levels of arousal might benefit from them.

Promote authoritative parenting

Authoritarian parenting seeks to enforce a kind of unthinking obedience. It also features punishments that may seem overly harsh or arbitrary.

By contrast, authoritative parenting encourages kids to regulate their own behavior. It’s about setting clear limits, explaining the reasons behind the rules, being responsive, and treating kids as independent, rational, cooperative family members.

In one study, kids who perceived their parents as authoritative were less likely to bully their peers (Rican et al 1993).

Promote family counseling.

Studies suggest that some forms of family counseling—sessions that address how to improve communication between family members—may help reform adolescents who bully. After 12 weeks of a program called "brief strategic family therapy” (BSFT), kids report fewer acts of bullying and less anger. They may even have changed their patterns of stress hormone secretion (Nickel et al 2005; Nickel et al 2006).

Protect kids from trauma, abuse, and bullying at home.

The more kids get abused or experience other adverse life events, the more likely they are to develop anti-social personalities.

So not only is protecting kids a matter of morality, it's also a way to disrupt the cycle of violence.