Bullying—long tolerated as just a part of growing up—finally has been recognized as a substantial and preventable health problem. Bullying is associated with anxiety, depression, poor school performance, and future delinquent behavior among its targets, and reports regularly surface of youth who have committed suicide at least in part because of intolerable bullying. Bullying also can have harmful effects on children who bully, on bystanders, on school climates, and on society at large. Bullying can occur at all ages, from before elementary school to after high school. It can take the form of physical violence, verbal attacks, social isolation, spreading rumors, or cyberbullying. Increased concern about bullying has led 49 states and the District of Columbia to enact anti-bullying legislation since 1999. In addition, research on the causes, consequences, and prevention of bullying has expanded greatly in recent decades. However, major gaps still exist in the understanding of bullying and of interventions that can prevent or mitigate the effects of bullying.

Building Capacity to Reduce Bullying is the summary of a workshop convened by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council in April 2014 to identify the conceptual models and interventions that have proven effective in decreasing bullying, examine models that could increase protective factors and mitigate the negative effects of bullying, and explore the appropriate roles of different groups in preventing bullying. This report reviews research on bullying prevention and intervention efforts as well as efforts in related areas of research and practice, implemented in a range of contexts and settings, including schools, peers, families, communities, laws and public policies, and technology. Building Capacity to Reduce Bullying considers how involvement or lack of involvement by these sectors influences opportunities for bullying, and appropriate roles for these sectors in preventing bullying. This report highlights current research on bullying prevention, considers what works and what does not work, and derives lessons learned.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• PLANNING COMMITTEE ON INCREASING CAPACITY FOR REDUCING BULLYING AND ITS IMPACT ON THE LIFECOURSE OF YOUTH INVOLVED
• Reviewers
• 1. Introduction and Overview
  • COMMENTS FROM THE SPONSOR
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP SUMMARY
• I. Understanding Bullying
  • 2. Overview of Bullying and Victimization
    • THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BULLYING
    • THE PREVALENCE OF BULLYING
    • CHANGES OVER TIME
    • THE CONSEQUENCES OF BULLYING
  • 3. Targets of Bullying and Bullying Behavior
    • CONTEXTUAL EFFECTS ON THE TARGETS OF BULLYING
    • ASSOCIATIONS AMONG BULLYING, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, AND DATING VIOLENCE
    • INSTRUMENTAL AGGRESSION
    • THE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH BULLYING
    • INTEGRATING PERSPECTIVES
• II. Contexts for Prevention and Intervention
  • 4. School-Based Interventions
    • SCHOOL-BASED PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS
    • SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BULLYING
    • BULLYING AND SCHOOL SAFETY
    • DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES
  • 5. Family-Focused Interventions
    • PARENT ATTITUDES ABOUT AND RESPONSES TO BULLYING
    • FAMILIES AS SOURCES OF RISK AND PROTECTION
    • GETTING FAMILIES INVOLVED
  • 6. Technology-Based Interventions
    • CYBERBULLYING AND CYBER INTERVENTIONS
    • INTERVENTIONS IN OTHER AREAS
    • PREVALENCE AND RESPONSES
  • 7. Community-Based Interventions
    • EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS
    • ROLES OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
    • THE FOCUS OF PREVENTION
  • 8. Peer-Led and Peer-Focused Programs
    • PEER IMPACT ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT
    • PEER INTERVENTION PROGRAMS
    • YOUTH LEADERS
  • 9. Laws and Public Policies
    • MANY ANTI-BULLYING LAWS EXIST, BUT ARE THEY EFFECTIVE
    • HOW THE LAW BOTH HELPS AND HINDERS THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM BULLYING
    • LEGAL RESPONSES TO BULLYING
• III. Future Directions and Overall Themes
  • 10. Translating Bullying Research into Policy and Practice
    • IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS IN SCHOOLS
    • THE COMMUNITIES THAT CARE SYSTEM
    • OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF BULLYING SCHOOL PREVENTION PROGRAMS
    • FIDELITY VERSUS ADAPTATION
  • 11. Reflections of School Personnel and Student Perspectives
    • Definitions
    • Reporting of Bullying
    • School Climate
    • Program Implementation
    • The Biological Evidence
    • Technology and Other Resources
    • Missing Stakeholders
    • Other Issues
  • 12. Final Thoughts
    • BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION AND THE TARGETS OF BULLYING
    • SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTIONS
    • FAMILY-FOCUSED INTERVENTIONS
    • TECHNOLOGY-BASED INTERVENTIONS
    • COMMUNITY-BASED INTERVENTIONS
    • PEER-LED AND PEER-FOCUSED PROGRAMS
    • LAWS AND PUBLIC POLICIES
    • TRANSLATING BULLYING RESEARCH INTO POLICY AND PRACTICE
• Appendixes
  • A References
  • B Workshop Agenda
  • C Workshop Statement of Task

Rapporteurs: Patti Simon and Steve Olson.

This activity was supported by Contract No. HHSH250200976014I/HHS25034018T between the National Academy of Sciences and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the activity.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research Council). 2014. Building capacity to reduce bullying: Workshop summary Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The workshop that is the subject of this workshop summary was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.