Bullying Prevalence in Secondary Schools

and the Necessity of Effective Intervention

Strategies

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARTERRYVILLE HIGH SCHOOL

JANUARY 20. 2015

SAMANTHA LAYTON

Jared’s Story

The CDC administered a High School

Youth Risk Behavior Survey in CT in 2013

CT Statistics

• Bullied on school grounds – 21.9%• Electronically bullied – 17.5%• Threatened or injured with a weapon – 7.1%• Physically fought – 22.4%• Did not go to school because they did not feel safe

– 6.8%• Felt sad/hopeless – 27.2%• Considered suicide – 14.5%• Attempted suicide – 8.1% (Adolescent and School

Health, 2014)

CT Statistics

1. Organize by department.2. There is a set of index cards on each table.

Using these cards, come up with as many ways as possible for how/why people are bullied (5 minutes)

3. Try to organize your cards into categories (i.e. physical, emotional, cyber, etc…) (5 minutes)

4. As a department, try to come up with your own definition of bullying. Share your definition with at least two other groups.

Activity- How would YOU define bullying?

CT Public Act 11-232

“Repeated written, oral, and electronic communications by one or more students directed at or referring to another student and physical acts or gestures by one or more students that are repeatedly directed against another student” (Connecticut State Department of Education, n.d.).

Bullying Defined

• cause students to experience emotional or

physical harm• disrupt the educational process by creating a

hostile learning environment • cause the students to experience fear of harm • impede on student rights (Connecticut State

Department of Education, n.d.).

Bullying can….

Electronic Physical Verbal/emotional

Types of Bullying

“ Acts of bullying carried out through mobile

electronic devices or electronic communications, the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or cell phones” (Connecticut State Department

of Education, n.d.).Examples derogatory texts, emails, pictures, and videos, fake online profiles, and rumors (What is Cyberbullying, n.d.).

Electronic Bullying

When a person/persons physically touch another person in a harmful manner. Examples include (but are not limited to):• pinching• slapping• punching• tripping• pushing

Physical Bullying

• Name calling• Insults• Teasing• Intimidation• Homophobic or racist remarks• Verbal abuse (National Center Against

Bullying, n.d.).

Verbal/Emotional Bullying

• dominant• aggressive• short fuse (reacts negatively to a variety of

situations)• controlling• easily peer-pressured • attention-seeking• lacks empathy• comes from a dysfunctional family (The Bullying

Project, n.d.).

Bully Characteristics

Actual or perceived differentiating qualities, including race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical appearance, disability, and socioeconomic status (Connecticut State Department of Education, n.d.)

Victim (Target) Characteristics

• Smaller physical stature• Younger than perpetrator• Small or non-existent social group • Parental abuse/misconduct leads to

confusion regarding proper relationships (The Bullying Project, n.d.).

Victim (Target) Characteristics - general

Turkmen et. al (2013)• Administered survey questionnaire to 14-17

year olds• Over 6,000 total respondents• Statistic analysis of results • 96.7% reported involvement in bullying as

either the victim or perpetrator• CONCLUSION “It takes a village” approach

Research

Schneider, O’Donnell, Stueve, and Coulher (2012)• Administered survey to 20,000+ high school-

aged students in MA• Purposes to identify how many students

reported being bullied on school grounds, online, or both; also, who reported psychological distress as a result of bullying

• Majority (59.7%) reported being bullied at school and online; also found elevated risk of distress (i.e. suicide attempts)

Research

Messius, Kindrick, and Castro (2014)• Researchers that analyzed data from a 2011

Youth Risk Behavior Survey administered by the CDC

• Over 15,000 high-school aged participants• Findings 27.4% of students reported being

bullied on school grounds and electronically• MOST IMPORTANTLY correlation to increased

risk of suicidal behaviors

Long-term Effects

1. Anonymous reporting system• Guidance, psychologists, nurse, resource officer • Paper vs. online documents?• Technology support? 2. Task force • Administration, SRO, reps from each department &

student reps • Responsibilities review/revise handbook policies,

discussing incidents, determining levels of infraction severity, system to follow up with victim & aggressor

Suggested Interventions

What are…..3 things you have learned?2 questions you may have?1 thing you will do to help stop bullying in the next month?

Ticket To Go!

ANY QUESTIONS?

Adolescent and School Health. (2014, June 12). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/factsheets/index.htm

Connecticut State Department of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2700&Q=322402

Messius, E., Kindrick, K., & Castro, J. (2014). School bullying, cyberbullying, or both: Correlates of teen suicidality in the 2011 CDC youth risk behavior survey. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55(5), 1063-1068. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.02.005.

National Centre Against Bullying, (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2015 from http://www.ncab.org/au/parents/typesofbullying

Schneider, S., O’Donnell, L., Stueve, A., & Coulher, R. Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A Regional census of high school students. American Journal of Public Health, 102(1), 171-177.

The Bullying Project. (n.d.). Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://bullyingproject.com/bullies-and-victims/

Turkmen, N., Dokgoz, H., Akgoz, S., Eren, B., Vural, P., & Polat, O. (2013). Bullying among high school students. Maedica- A Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(2), 143-152.

What is Cyberbullying. (n.d.). Retrieved February 6, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html

References