Cyberbullying is a major public health problem associated with serious mental, social, and academic consequences for young people. To date, few programs addressing cyberbullying have been developed and empirically tested. The Cyber Friendly Schools (CFS) group-randomized controlled trial measured the longitudinal impact of a whole-school online cyberbullying prevention and intervention program, developed in partnership with young people. Non-government secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia, (N = 35; 3,000+ students) were randomized to an intervention (n = 19) or usual practice control group (n = 16 schools). Students completed online questionnaires in 2010, 2011, and at 1-year follow-up in 2012, measuring their cyberbullying experiences during the previous school term. The intervention group received the program in Grades 8 and 9 (aged 13-14 years). Program effects were tested using two-part growth models. The program was associated with significantly greater declines in the odds of involvement in cyber-victimization and perpetration from pre- to the first post-test, but no other differences were evident between the study conditions. However, teachers implemented only one third of the program content. More work is needed to build teacher capacity and self-efficacy to effectively implement cyberbullying programs. Whole-school cyberbullying interventions implemented in conjunction with other bullying prevention programs may reduce cyber-victimization more than traditional school-based bullying prevention programs alone. Aggr. Behav. 42:166-180, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Increasingly, researchers are required to obtain active (explicit) parental consent prior to surveying children and adolescents in schools. This study assessed the potential bias present in a sample of actively consented students, and in the estimates of associations between variables obtained from this sample. Students (n = 3496) from 36 non-government metropolitan schools in Perth, Western Australia completed an online survey in 2010 as part of the Cyber Friendly Schools Project. Students with active (35%) and passive (65%) parental consent were compared on a range of variables including demographic, bullying and social-emotional outcomes. The moderating effects of consent status were also tested. Comparisons of the two consent groups showed that older students and students involved in problem behaviours such as bullying others, with lower pro-social scores, who lived with one parent and reported doing less well academically than their peers, were underrepresented in the sample with active parental consent. Additionally, consent status was a significant moderator of the associations between bullying victimisation and certain social-emotional variables. Active only parental consent leads to biased samples and biased estimates of associations between outcomes of interest, which could lead to miss-targeted behavioural policies and interventions. Strategies to boost response rates to levels sufficient to warrant the conduct of the research are labour-intensive and costly, and the obtained samples are still likely to be biased. For low risk research, such as bullying surveys, rigorous active-passive consent procedures which result in higher participation rates, lower costs and reduced burden on teachers and schools, are recommended

Parent nonsupply of alcohol and disapproval of use were most important in terms of associations with ever drinking. SO WHAT?: These findings call for interventions that support parents to expect no alcohol use and enable parents to communicate their expectation in a manner that resonates with their child. Effective parenting will contribute to reducing alcohol-related harm in adolescents.

School-based health services (SBHS) including pastoral care can play a pivotal role in addressing adolescent health and wellbeing; including their tobacco and other drug use. To maximise the benefits of these services, they need to be accessible, useful for, and acceptable to students. This formative, qualitative study involved 12 focus groups within nine lower socio-economic Western Australian Government secondary schools. The purpose was to identify student (n = 59) perceptions of the availability and usefulness of SBHS (and other identified caring staff) to reduce students’ harm associated with tobacco and other drug use. The findings suggest students were aware of the SBHS available to them, but considered them less useful if staff were regularly unavailable; presented a ‘don't care’ attitude; held solely disciplinary roles; and were based in an area of the school unfamiliar to the student. Services were considered useful when staff members built rapport with students; took time to listen; followed-up with students and displayed a general concern for the student's wellbeing. Interestingly, students acknowledged trusting health teachers more than SBHS staff for tobacco information and support. These findings have important implications for school counsellors and other school health/pastoral care staff who want to increase the likelihood of students approaching and using school support services to reduce harm associated with tobacco and other harmful drug (OHD) use.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe a seven stage community engagement process to develop and disseminate community uptake strategies which encouraged cybersafety as part of a positive transition from primary to secondary school among Australian young people. Design/methodology/approach - The combined principles from socio-ecological models, community development models and student participation models formed the foundation for the strategies. Resources were developed for all members of the community - students, parents, teachers and the broader community. The methods included: the formation of a steering committee and a Youth Advisory Board; review of the current literature; development of online resources; a youth resource development activity; development of youth resources; translation of resources into health promotion initiatives; and the dissemination of resources at community events and facilities such as schools, libraries and recreation centres and through print and social media. Findings - Community engagement strategies - in particular a partnership between a Western Australian university and local government body, the steering committee consisting of local organisations, and the student advisory board - were used to successfully design and promote resources developed by young people for young people. Originality/value - This study utilises a community-level approach to develop resources to encourage cybersafety and a positive transition from primary to secondary school