Anti-Bullying Efforts: No Victim Left Behind

In a recent blog post, we described whole-school approaches to address bullying. Whole-school approaches put the responsibility on everyone to prevent and respond to bullying (Gaffney et al., 2021). While this approach can be effective for reducing bullying in schools, it is not always enough for addressing bullying at the individual level (Kaufman et al., 2018).

Children with specific risk factors are more likely to experience persistent victimization, even when they attend a school with a whole-school approach to bullying (Kaufman et al., 2018; Nocentini et al., 2018). Researchers have identified the following risk factors:

• Rejection by peers
• Symptoms of social anxiety
• Symptoms of depression
• Perceived rejection by parents
• Perceived lack of warmth from parents
• High levels of the negative emotionality temperament, also known as reactivity

Targeted anti-bullying interventions are necessary to support victims of bullying who do not benefit from whole-school approaches. Targeted approaches should address specific risk factors (Kaufman et al., 2018; Nocentini et al., 2018). Ideas for professionals to address the risk factors are grouped into three sections: (1) strategies to increase social skills, (2) strategies for supporting emotional regulation, and (3) strategies to help strengthen caregiver-child relationships. The strategies provided are based on a book by Hemmeter et al., (2021), which provides strategies that teachers and other school professionals can implement to facilitate the development of positive social-emotional skills in these areas.

Strategies to Increase Social Skills

Providing targeted intervention related to social skills could help reduce rejection by peers and feelings of social anxiety (Kaufman et al., 2018). Importantly, these supports will vary based on the child’s age and needs. Some strategies  based on Hemmeter et al., (2021) and other sources include:

• Teach the child how to initiate peer interactions
• Teach the child how to recognize and respond to classmates’ boundaries and cues
• Help the child identify shared interests with other students
• Implement peer projects and activities that are carefully planned, supervised, and scaffolded by the teacher or another professional (e.g., social worker)
• Use books or social stories to teach the children what to do in social encounters (i.e., how to problem solve, how to share toys)
• Give children autonomy and tools to request a break when they are experiencing social anxiety
• Teach children the steps of problem-solving and reinforce these steps using visual supports (e.g., problem-solving wheel, posters)
• Use dramatic play (e.g., puppets, role playing) to help children act out social interactions that they struggle with
• Use video modeling or video self-modeling to show children what positive social interactions look like (Green et al., 2017)
• Partner with children and their family to identify specific goals related to their social anxiety and strategies to address it (Everyday Speech, n. d.)

Strategies for Supporting Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation is an important skill that teachers and other school professionals can target in children to help reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and reactivity (negative emotionality). Specific strategies for promoting emotional regulation based on Hemmeter et al., (2021) and other sources include:

• Use books and visuals to label and discuss emotions (e.g., “How do you think the girl is feeling?” “Describe a time you felt like that.”)
• Offer choices of emotional regulation strategies either by providing a verbal choice (e.g., “Do you want to take deep breaths or go on a walk?”) or offering a visual cue (e.g., choice boards/wheels)
• Allow children to act on their emotions (e.g., cry, cross their arms, find a safe place to hide), rather than expecting them to suppress emotions. When a redirection is needed, suggest doing a different activity that meets a similar need (e.g., if a child picks up a chair to throw it, invite them to throw a soft or squishy ball at the wall instead)
• Model emotional regulation by talking about your own emotions (e.g., “My face is red because I am feeling frustrated.”) and the strategies you use (e.g., “I am taking a deep breath before I respond.”)
• Take time to engage in mindfulness activities in the classroom, such as starting off the class by doing 10 minutes of yoga or doing breathing exercises as a group (Foody, 2017).

Strategies to Help Strengthen Parent-Child Relationships

Actively involving families in targeted interventions is an important consideration to reduce victimization (Kaufman et al., 2018). Supporting positive parent-child relationships could help children feel more secure with their parents and reduce feelings of parental rejection. Teachers and school personnel can try these strategies, drawn from Hemmeter et al., (2021) and other sources to build positive parent-child relationships:

• Send home example questions and discussion points that families can use to talk to their child about school, bullying, or other related topics (e.g., mental health, friendship skills, self-regulation)
• Point out children’s strengths regularly to their families, such as sending home positive behavior notes for children or a newsletter that highlights all children’s accomplishments
• Share resources with families that focus on family well-being and caregiver-child relationships, such as parent-child interaction groups, parent training events, family counseling, and family-oriented community events
• Send home ideas of activities families can do with their children, rather than sending home homework (e.g., go on a family walk, write a grocery list together, talk about a book the child has recently read, play a card/board game)
• Ensure families know about bullying and bully prevention strategies, as well as risk factors associated with bullying (Malm, 2016)

Overall, it is important that school professionals recognize and support students who are continually bullied. These targeted supports can help address risk factors. It is also critical for professionals to recognize that some children with these risk factors might need more individualized and intensive support than can be offered by school professionals. Thus, it is important for professionals to refer children for specialized resources when needed.

References

Everyday speech. (n.d.). Setting effective IEP goals for managing anxiety in school.

Foody, M. & Samara, M. (2017). Considering mindfulness techniques in school-based anti-bullying programmes. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(1), 3-9.

Green, V. A., Prior, T., Smart, E., Boelema, T., Drysdale, H., Harcourt, S., Roch, L, & Waddington, H. (2017). The use of individualized video modeling to enhance positive peer interactions in three preschool children. Education and Treatment of Children, 40(3), 353- 378.

Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M. M. & Fox, L. (Ed.). (2021). Unpacking the pyramid model: A practical guide for preschool teachers. Brookes.

Kaufman, T. M., Kretschmer, T., Huitsing, G., & Veenstra, R. (2018). Why does a universal anti-bullying program not help all children? Explaining persistent victimization during an intervention. Prevention Science, 19(6), 822-832.

Malm, E. K., Henrich, C., Varjas, K., & Meyers, J. (2016). Parental self-efficacy and bullying in elementary school. Journal of School Violence, 16(4), 411-425.

Nocentini, A., Palladino, B. E., & Menesini, E. (2019). For whom is anti-bullying intervention most effective? The role of temperament. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3), 388.

Image Credit: Storyblocks.com, CC0