Combining whole‐school and targeted programs for the reduction of bullying victimization: A randomized, effectiveness trial

Abstract

Despite the extensive evaluation of school‐based interventions for bullying, victimization remains a significant problem in schools. Bullying victimization is significantly predicted by contextual (school‐related) factors. As a consequence whole‐school programs have been commonly used to prevent and reduce bullying victimization. Evidence also points to individual risk factors (such as emotional distress) in predicting victimization, yet programs to prevent bullying victimization by changing these individual risks are far less developed. Few studies have approximated “real‐world” implementation conditions in their trials. The current effectiveness trial evaluated the combination of a whole‐school program designed to prevent bullying perpetration and victimization together with a targeted intervention for at‐risk students, teaching them individual and dyadic strategies to reduce their anxiety and manage victimization, allowing schools some latitude to implement programs as they typically would. Students from Grades 3 and 4 (N = 8,732) across 135 schools were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: combined intervention; whole‐school intervention only; individual intervention only; and care as usual. Victimization decreased significantly and similarly across all four conditions at 12 and 24 months following baseline. Similar reductions and failure to discriminate conditions were found on other key constructs: anxiety; bullying perpetration; and depression. Possible reasons for the failure to demonstrate victimization prevention differences and lessons learned from this large, effectiveness trial are considered.

Effects of ACT Out! Social Issue Theater on Social-Emotional Competence and Bullying in Youth and Adolescents: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…intervention compared to treatment as usual for SEC or offline bullying, but some evidence of a small effect for cyberbullying. As was already indicated, SEL and bullying interventions in schools tend to be lengthy and involved, and bullying interventions in particular may struggle to demonstrate effectiveness in randomized trials [ 24 ]. Since ACT Out!…”

“…Even efficacious programs described as “brief” prevention curricula can last 1 week or more and involve multiple interlocking components [ 22 ]. Further, several programs that have reported favorable results in efficacy trials have not always produced the same results in effectiveness (“real world”) trials, potentially due to issues with implementation fidelity and existing, confounding antibullying programming [ 23 , 24 ]. In concluding their report from a recent effectiveness trial, Rapee et al [ 24 ] noted, “clearly, producing a sizeable impact on school-based victimization is extremely difficult.” Therefore, there is a demonstrated need for inexpensive, simple-to-implement bullying prevention programming, but achieving positive outcomes from such interventions is likely to be especially challenging.…”

“…Additional details are available in the trial protocol [ 2 ]. All outcomes were measured at the individual participant level, but randomization occurred at the cluster level (classroom) because performances are intended to be delivered to groups and because research literature [ 23 , 24 ] has indicated that pre-existing school-level programs addressing bullying and SEC often vary between schools and may contribute to statistical noise in randomized trials using school as the cluster (eg, treatment as usual may not be consistent between schools).…”

‘It’s All About Context’: Building School Capacity to Implement a Whole-School Approach to Bullying

“…However, the overall effects sizes are modest and somewhat mixed (Evans et al, 2014;Vreeman & Carroll, 2007). Although these smaller than expected effects can be partly explained by methodological issues and increased anti-bullying policy mandates by many countries, intervention studies frequently report effects were limited by insufficient school capacity to adopt and effectively implement these complex whole-school interventions , particularly in effectiveness (real-world) trials (Rapee et al, 2020;Axford et al, 2020).…”

Economic Evaluation of an Intervention Designed to Reduce Bullying in Australian Schools

“…Results from both studies showed a significant decrease in an increasing trend of bullying experience when the FSFF student curriculum was taught compared to the usual curriculum [15,19]. The two trials that did not show significant effects were a trial of a pre-primary aggression prevention program (unpublished), and a recent effectiveness trial that faced significant implementation problems [20]. Moreover, 3000 schools in Australia and some schools in Singapore, New Zealand, the USA and the UK have used/are using the Friendly Schools resources since they were first released in 2005.…”