Bullying in School: An Overview of Types, Effects,Family Characteristics, and Intervention Strategies

Paul R. Smokowski and Kelly Holland Kopasz

Bullying represents a significant problem in U.S. schools, affecting approximately one in threechildren. The authors discuss the dynamics, types, characteristics, and consequences of school

bullying. Risk factors for engaging in bullying, being bullied, and becoming both a bully and avictim are discussed. Research indicates that bullying has serious long-term negative effects on

bullies, victims, and victims who tum to bullying as a coping strategy. Longitudinalrelationships between childhood bullying and victimization and adult mental health outcomes

such as anxiety, depression, substance use, and conduct disorders are outlined. Preventionprograms, and their relative efficacy from empirical evaluations, are also presented. Finally,

implications for school-based prevention services are provided.

KEY WORDS: bullying; victimization; violence prevention; youth violence

Over the past 30 years, clinicians and re-searchers have come to understand thatbullying is a serious threat to healthy child

development and a potential cause of school vio-lence (Olweus, 1978).The recent school shootingsin the United Sutes have prompted many profes-sionals to consider bullying and its impact on stu-dents. In working with children and adolescents,school psychologists and social workers need to beaware of bullying behavion, their potentially dam-aging consequences for victims, and school-basedinterventions for preventing bullying, coercion, andviolence.

Bullying is usually defined as a form of aggressionin wliich one or more children intend to harm ordisturb another child who is perceived as beingunable to defend himself or herself (Glew, Rivara,& Feudtner, 2000). Typically, a power imbalanceexists between the bully and the victim, with thebully being either physically or psychologically morepowerful (Nanseletal.,2001). Often, the perpetra-tor uses bullying as a means to establish dominanceor maintain status (Pellegrini. Bartini, & Brooks,1999; Roberts, 2000). In addition, bullying behav-iors tend to occur repeatedly (Nansel et al.). Suchbehaviors include name calling, physically assault-ing, threatening, stealing, vandalizing, slandering,excluding, and taunting (Beale, 2001). Regardless

of which behavior is chosen, bullying is marked byintense intimidation that creates a pattern of hu-miliation, abuse, and fear for the victim (Roberts,2000).

Bullying represents a significant problem in ournation s schools.The National School Safety Cen-ter (NSSC) called bullying the most enduring andunderrated problem in U.S. schools (Beale, 2001).One study found that approximately 10 percent ofchildren in the United States experienced extremevictimization by bullying (Perry, Kusei, & Perry,1988). In a more recent national study, nearly 30percent of the students surveyed reported beinginvolved in bullying in the current term as either aperpetrator or a victim (Nansel et al., 2001).Thistranslates to 3,708,284 students reporting bullyingand 3,245,904 students reporting victimization(Nansel et al.).

Bullying can be considered the most prevalentform of youth violence and may escalate into ex-tremely serious forms of antisocial behavior. Forexample, the surgeon general's task force on youthviolence examined several longitudinal surveys ofviolent offending. They reported about 30 percentto 40 percent of male and 16 percent to 32 percentof female youths committed a serious violent of-fense by age 17 (U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services [DHHS],2001).The most chronic

CCC Code: i532.a759A)5 13.00 ©2005 National AKOciation of Social Workers IOI

form of criminal offending appears to derive froman early-onset trajectory of aggressive behavior inchildhood (DHHS). Bullying peers can clearly beconsidered one component of this early-onset tra-jectory. A study by Brockenbrough and colleagues(2002) also helps to link bullying and violence.Theseauthors conducted a survey of nearly 11,000 sev-enth-, ninth-, and eleventh-grade students andfound that one-third of bullying victims had ag-gressive attitudes. The group of victims with ag-gressive attitudes was more likely than other vic-tims or bullies to report that they had carriedweapons to school, used alcohol, and engaged in aphysical fight at school. These highly troubled ag-gressive victims may be at significant risk of be-conaing school shooters or engaging in serious long-term delinquent behavior.

The majority of bullying incidents occur in orclose to school; playgrounds and hallways are twoof the most common sites for altercations (Beale,2001 ;Glew et al., 2000). Generally, bullying occursin areas where adult supervision is minimal.Whereassome studies show that bullying peaks during themiddle school years, others show tbat the percent-age of students who are bullied is greatest aroundtbe second grade and declines steadily tbrough tbenintb grade (Banks, 1999; Olweus, 1993).

Generally, researchers identify four types of bul-lies (Beale, 2001). Well-known in schools, physicalbullies arc action-oriented and use direct bullyingbehaviors sucb as bitting and kicking. This is tbeleast sophisticated type of bullying because of tbeease in identifying tbese bullies. Physical bullies aremost commonly boys. Over time, physical bulliesbecome more aggressive and may continue to mani-fest bullying behaviors into adulthood.Verbal bul-lies, on the other hand, use words to burt or hu-miliate tbeir victims. Bullying by this type of bullybappens rapidly, making it difficult to detect andintervene. Althougb tberc are no visible scars, tbistype of bullying can have devastating effects. Thethird type is called reladonal bullies. Relationalbullies convince tbeir peers to exclude certain chil-dren.Tbis type of bullying happens most often witbgirls and can lead to feelings of rejection at a dmewhen social connection is critical (Crick &Grotpeter, 1995). Tbe Hnal type, reactive bullies,can be the most difficult to identify. These bulliestend to be impulsive, taunting others into fightingwith them. Reactive bullies will fight back,but thenclaim self-defense.

In this article we discuss risk factors for engag-ing in bullying, being bullied, and becoming both abully and a victim. We also outline longitudinalrclationsbips between childhood bullying and vic-timization, family dynamics, and adult mental bealthoutcomes. Prevention programs and implicationsfor school personnel are presented.

BULLIES

Characteristics of BulliesAlthough bullies may differ in the type of aggres-sion they use, most bullies share common charac-teristics. According to the NSSC, bullies are overlyaggressive, destructive, and enjoy dominating otberchildren (Carney & Merrell, 2001; NSSC, 1995).They also tend to be bot-tempered, impulsive, andbave a low tolerance for fi-ustration (Olweus, 1993).Bullies tend to have difficulty processing social in-formation and often interpret other's behaviors asbeing antagonistic, even wben they are not (Dodge,1991; McNamara & McNamara, 1997). Althougbpeers generally dislike bullies in adolescence, bul-lies tend to be popular with other aggressive chil-dren in earlier grades (Pellegrini, 1998). In fact, onestudy found tbat bullies reported greater ease inmaking fi-iends than did other children (Nansel etal., 2001).The link between bullying and peer so-cial status requires further clarification. Some re-searchers have identified popular aggressive andunpopular aggressive bully subtypes (Farmer et al.,2002). Popular aggressive bullies socialize withother popular children and do not appear to en-counter significant social stigma stemming fromtbeir aggression. Unpopular aggressive bullies aretypically rejected or neglected by otber childrenand may use a^ression as a way to get attention.However, with tbeir teachers and other adulte, bothtypes of bullies tend to act aggressively and mayactually frighten some of tbese adults because oftheir physical strength and defiant attitude (Olweus,1993).

Most bullies bave a positive attitude toward vio-lence, particularly as a means to solve problems orget what tbey want (Carney & Merrell, 2001; Glewet al., 2000). Often, bullies are "rewarded" with ciga-rettes, money, and prestige as a result of tbeir ag-gression (Olweus, 1993). They also use bullyingbehavion to gain or maintain dominance and tendto lack a sense of empathy for tbeir victims (Beale,2001). Many bullies do not realize tbe level of theiraggression (NSSC, 1995). Researchers have also

IO2 Children & Schools VOLUME 27, NUMBER 2 APRIL 2005

found that bullies are more likely to be involvedwith other problem behaviors, such as drinking andsmoking (Nansel et al., 2001). In addition, bulliesusually lack problem-solving skills and tend to ex-ternalize their problems as a means of coping(Andreou, 2001). They also show poorer schoolachievement and demonstrate a dislike of the schoolenvironment, particularly in middle school (Nanseletal.; also see DHHS. 2001).

Finally, a debate exists in the literature as towhether bullies suffer from low self-esteem. Someresearchers su^ested that bullies have either aver-age or lower-than-average levels of insecurity (Glewet al., 2000). In contrast, other studies showed thatbullies of both primary and post-primary schoolage had signiScantly lower global self-esteem scoresthan children who had not bullied others (O'Moore& Kirkham, 2001).

Family BackgroundResearch suggests that the families of bullies areoften troubled (Olweus, 1994). Generally, bullies'parents are hostile, rejecting, and indifferent to theirchildren.The father 6gure in these homes is usuallyweak, if present at all, and the mother tencis to beisolated and may have a permissive parenting style(Curtner-Smith, 2000; Olweus, 1978); thus, super-vision of the children's whereabouts or activitiestends to be minimal (Roberts, 1988) .When parentsare aware of their child's aggressive behaviors, manydismiss them as a rite of passage or as "boys beingboys" (McNamara & McNamara, 1997). Researchsuggests that the bully's level of aggression will in-crease if the caretaker continues to tolerate a^res-sive behaviors toward the child's peen,siblings, andteachers (Olweus, 1993).

Discipline in these homes is usually inconsistent(Carney & Merrell, 2001). Parents of bullies tend touse power-assertive techniques to manage behavior(Pellegrini, 1998; Schwartz, Dodge, & Coie, 1993).Punishment is often physical or in the form of anangry, emotional outburst and is often followed bya long period of time in which the child is ignored(Roberts, 2000). As a result, these children learn thata^ression can be used as a means to an end. Bulliesimitate the aggressive behaviors they see at home toobtain their goals (Patterson, Capaldi,& Bank, 1991;Roberts, 2000). Some researchers refer to this coer-cive cycle of violence to explain the "continuous,intergenerational perpetuation of aggressive behav-ior" (Carney & Merrell, p. 370).

Short and Long-Term Effects of BullyingMany bullies experience mental health Jitlkulties.One study found that, among bullies, nearly one-third had attention-deficit disorder, 12.5 percenthad depression, and 12.5 percent had oppositionaJ-conduct disorder (Kumpulainen,Rasanen, & Puura,2(K)l;see also, Kaltiala-Heino,Rimpela,& Rim pela,2000) .Also, highly a^ressive bullies have been foundto possess personality defects such as having a posi-tive attitude toward physical a^ression (Andreou,2001; Olweus, 1978). Furthermore, one study foundthat bullies tend to engage in frequent excessivedrinking and other substance use more often thanvictims or bully-victims (Kaltiala-Heino et al.).Research has found that, as adults, bullies often dis-play externalizing behaviors and hyperactivity(Kumpulainen & Rasanen, 2000). Finally, being abully has been associated with antisocial develop-ment in adulthood (Kaltiala-Heino et al.; Olweus,1994; Pulkkinen & Pitkanen, 1993).

Children who bully others often experiencelong-term effects and consequences as a result oftheir buUying. According to NSSC, a dispropor-tionately high number of bullies underachieve inschool and later perform below potential in em-ployment settings (Carney & Merrell, 2001; NSSC,1995). In addition, studies have found that by age30 bullies were likely to have more criminal con-victions and traffic violations than their less-aggres-sive peers (Roberts, 2000). A 1991 study found that60 percent of boys who were labeled as bullies ingrades 6 through 9 had at least one criminal con-viction by age 24 and 35; 40 percent of these boyshad three or more convictions by this time (Glewet al., 2000; Olweus, 1995).These adults were alsomore likely to have displayed aggression toward theirspouses and were more likely co use severe physicalpunishment on their own children (Roberts,2000).In addition, research su^ests that adults who werebullies as children tend to have children who be-come bullies (Carney & Merrell; NSSC).Thus, ag-gressive behaviors may continue Bxnn one genera-tion to the next.

VICTIMSCharacteristics of VictimsVictims, in contrast to bullies, are the recipients ofpeer abuse.The majority of bullying victims, abouttwo-thirds, are passive or submissive; the remainingone-third appear to have aggressive attitudes(Brockenbrough etal.,2002).Physically,victims tend

SMOKOWSKI AND KOPASZ / BuUying in School-An Overview

to be small in stature, weak, and frail compared withbullies; thus, victims are often unable to protectthemselves from abuse (McNamara & McNamara,1997). These physical characteristics are particu-larly poignant for placing boys at risk of victimiza-tion. In addition, victims may have "body anxiety,"fear getting hurt, and have a negative attitude to-ward violence. They also may be unsuccessful atsports or other physical activities (Olweus, 1993).When attacked, many victims react by crying orwithdrawing, especially those in lower elementaryschool grades.

Victims also tend to be more quiet, cautious,anxious, insecure, and sensitive than most otherchildren and have rather poor communication andproblem-solving skills (Glew et al., 2000). As a re-sult, these children tend to initiate conversation lessthan other children and lack assertiveness skills(Schwartz et al., 1993). Consequendy, many vic-tims are abandoned by other children, have few tono friends, and are often found alone on the play-ground or at lunchtime (Olweus, 1993).One studyfound that victims of bullying demonstrated poorersocial and emotional adjustment, greater difBcultymaking friends, fewer relationships with peers,and greater loneliness (Nansel et al., 2001). An-other study found that many victims relate betterto adults such as parents and teachers than theirown peers (Olweus, 1993).

In addition, victims tend to sufFer from poor self-esteem (O'Moore & Kirkham, 2001).They oftensee themselves as failures—unattractive, unintelli-gent, and insignificant. Because of these negativecognitions, victims may wrongly blame themselvesfor the bullying (Carney & Merrell,2001). Lackingsufficient self-esteem and assertiveness to stand upfor themselves, victims are usually not willing toreport the bullying. This unwillingness to disclosetheir victimization may act as a signal for bulliesand may cause these victims to be targeted repeat-edly. Academically, victims may perform average orbetter in elementary school, but usually tend to beless successful than other children in middle school(Olweus, 1993). This deterioration in academicperformance may be due to the negative impact ofthe bullying experience on the victim's sense ofbonding or engagement with school.

Family BackgroundGenerally, victimized children come from familiesthat tend to be overprotective and sheltering be-

cause they realize that the child is anxious and in-secure. As a result, parents may avoid conflict be-cause they believe their child would not be able tocope. However, by avoiding conflict parents fail toteach their child appropriate conflict resolution skills(McNamara & McNamara, 1997). Many parentsbecome overly involved in their child's activities tocompensate for their child's social deficiencies.Researchen believe that the family's tendency toshelter their child may serve as both a cause and aconsequence of bullying (Olweus, 1993).

Short-Term Effects of VictimizationVictims may gradually sec themselves as outcastsand failures. Studies suggest that victimization has asignificant positive correlation with several inter-nalizing disorders, such as anxiety and depression(Brockenbrough et al., 2002; Kaltiala-Heino et al.,2000).This link between victimization and inter-nalizing disorders is particularly strong for adoles-cent girls and may contribute to the developmentof eating disorders (Bond, Carlin,Thomas, Rubin,& Patton, 2001). One study found that attention-deficit disorder was common among victims(Kumpulainen et al., 2001).This connection withattention-deficit disorder is undentandable consid-ering that these children may feel the need to con-stantly monitor their environment, anxiously an-ticipating the next victimization episode.

Victims of bullying often suffer from one ormore of the following: chronic absenteeism, re-duced academic performance, increased apprehen-sion, loneliness, feelings of abandonment, and sui-cidal ideation (Beale, 2001; Roberts & Coursol,1996). Because the bullying most often occurs atschool, many victims are reluctant or afraid to goto school and may develop psychosomatic symp-toms such as headaches or stomach pains in themorning. One study found that 7 percent of U.S.eighth graders stayed home at least one day amonth because of bullying (Foltz-Gray, 1996).Other researchers reported that more than one infive middle school students said that they avoidrestrooms at school out of fear of being bullied,and another study suggested that at least 20 per-cent of all students are frightened during much oftheir school day (Glew et al., 2000; Hazier, Hoover,& Oliver, 1992).

Victims may also experience physical injury(bruises,cuts, and scratches), torn clothing, and dam-aged property as a result of the bullying. To appease

IO4 Chitiiren & Schools VOLUME 27. NUMBER 1 APRIL

bullies and avoid injury, victims may request or stealextra money from family members. At night vic-tims may experience difficulty sleeping and havenightmares (McNamara & McNamara, 1997).Vic-tims are more likely than non-victims to bringweapons to school to feel safe or to retaliate(Brockenbrough et al., 2002). It is more common,however, for victims to internalize their problems.Unfortunately, victims sometimes attempt suicide(Olweus. 1993).

Long-Term Effects of VictimizationVictims also experience negative long-term effectsas a result of childhood bullying. Because victimstend to miss many days of school, their achieve-ment level tends to be lower than their peers andmany do not achieve their academic potential(McNamara & McNamara, 1997). In addition, atage 23, former victims tend to be more depressedand have poorer self-esteem than non-victimizedyoung adults (Olweus, 1993). Hugh-Jones andSmith (1999) found that one-half of former vic-tims reported long-term effects of being buHied asa child, mostly affecting their personal relationshipsin adulthood. Researchers have indicated that malevictims experience psychosocial difficulties such asinhibition with women during adulthood and mayhave problems in their sexual relationships(Gilmartin, 1987). In extreme cases, former vic-tims have carried out acts of retribution, includingmurder, against former bullies (Carney & Merrell,2001).

When former victims have their own children,they may overreact to behaviors that they perceiveas bullying, contributing to an intergenerationalcycle of overprotection (McNamara & McNamara,1997). This may inhibit the development of con-flict resolution skills in their children, placing thechildren at heightened risk of becoming the nextgeneration of victims.The risk of victimization maybe transferred by genetic predisposition for a smallbody, by the perpetuation of overprotectiveparenting, and by negative cognitions that childreninternalize.

BULLY-VICTIMS

Characteristics of Bully-VictimsAlso called reactive bullies or provocative victims,these children both buUy others and are bulliedthemselves. Bully-victims are characterized by anx-ious and aggressive behavior (Olweus, 1995). Stu-

dents indicate that these children both start fightsand are picked on (Schwartz, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates,1997). This group of children is often victimized,but also tends to tease or provoke bullies (Glew etal., 2000). When bullies respond to this provoca-tion, a physical fight may occur between the chil-dren. Bully-victims fight, but then claim self-de-fense (Beale, 2001). Although this has beendescribed as a common scenario for bully-victiminteractions, it is only one of a number of possiblealtercations that might characterize aggressivebully—victims. Another bully-victim scenario maybe that of the humiliated school shooter who ex-plodes in a burst of violence when he can no longercope.

Bully-victims can be difficult to identify. Olweus(1995) found that only a minority of victims couldbe identified as bully-victims. However, a U.S. studyfound that if a child is a victim, he or she has anequal chance of being a passive victim or a bully-victim (Perry & Perry, 1988). Brockenbrough andcolleagues (2002) surveyed 10,909 students in grades7 through 11 and reported that approximately 30percent of bullying victims had aggressive attitudes(that is, were bully-victims).They found that thisgroup reported carrying weapons, using alcohol,and engaging in physical fights more often thannona^ressive victims or non-victims.

Bully-victims are often hyperactive and haveattention problems. In the classroom they tend toannoy other students and regularly cause aggrava-tion (Carney & Merrell, 2001). BuUy-victims areoften labeled as"hot-tempered" and may react withhostility toward students who accidentally provokethem (for example, bumping into the bully-victimmay precipitate unwarranted retaliation, Pellegrini,1998). Not surprising, these children usually elicitnegative reactions from other children and are notsocially accepted by their peers (Andreou, 2001).Furthermore, many teachers do not like bully-vic-tims and may give the message to the class thatthese children deserve to be victims if they initiatenegative interactions (McNamara & McNamara,1997), Most bully-victims have low self-esteem,high neuroticism, and serious deficits in problem-solving abilities (Andreou; Mynard &Joseph, 1997).One study found that bully-victims viewed them-selves as more troublesome, less intellectual, lessphysically attractive, more anxious, less popular, andunhappier than pure bullies (O'Moore & Kirkham,2001).

SMOKOWSKI AND KOPASZ / Bullying in SchooL An Overview 105

Family Backgroundliiilly-victinis usually come from troubled homes.These children frequently describe their parents asinconsistent (overprotective and neglectful) andsometimes abusive (Bowers, Smith, & Binney, 1994).Bully-victims claim that their families are low inwarmth and lack parental management skills(Pellegrini, 1998).There is some evidence that theparents of bully-victims use power-assertive tech-niques with their children (Pellegrini). Researchsuggests that bully-victims learn hostile behaviorsat home and use these schemas to view the rest ofthe world as antagonistic and untrustworthy (Bowerset al.).

Short and Long-Term Effects of Bullyingand VictimizationMost bully-victims suffer fixim low self-esteem andhave a negative self-image.The frequency of bully-ing and victimization episodes appears to predictfeelings of self-worth (O'Moore Sc Kirkham, 2001).Among bully-victims in one study, 21.5 percenthad opposidonal-conduct disorder, 17.7 percent haddepression, and 17.7 percent had attention-deficitdisorder (Kumpulainen et al., 2001),These bully-victim rates for oppositional-conduct disorder anddepression were higher than the rates for these dis-orders in children who were bullies only. Anotherstudy found that bully-victims, compared withbullies or victims, had the greatest risk of depres-sive symptoms, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms,eating disorders, and co-occurring mental healthproblems (Kaltiala-Heino etal.,2000).In addition,bully-victims were at significant risk of drinkingand substance use as adolescents. Children who arebuUy-victims at younger ages not only have morepsychiatric symptoms when compared with otherchildren, but also have more psychiatric symptomslater in life (Kumpulainen & Rasanen, 2000).

Because research on bully-victims is still in itsinfancy and this is a relatively small group of chil-dren, researchers are still trying to understand thefull range of bully—victim behaviors and relation-ship dynamics.

INTERVENTIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FORCLINICAL PRACTICE IN SCHOOLSSeveral strategies exist for intervening in bullying.Some programs focus on intervening with eitherthe victim or the bully; others take a systemic ap-proach, addressing bullying behavior at multiple

levels. Interventions for youth violence are alsonoteworthy. These interventions commonly havemultiple components that address family and schoolcontexts.

Bullying Prevention ProgramsThe Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. TheOlweus Bullying Prevention Program (Olweus &Limber, 2000) is a comprehensive intervention andis probably the most widely recognized programfor addressing bullying. The program targets stu-dents in elementary and middle school and relieson teachers and school staff for implementation.The program prompts school personnel to create aschool environment that is characterized by warmthand involvement, has firm limits on unacceptablebehavior, consistently applies non-hostile conse-quences to violations of rules, and allows adults toact as both authority figures and role models.

Initially implemented in Norway, researchersreported that the program was associated with sub-stantial reductions, by 50 percent or more, in thefrequency with which students reported being bul-lied and bullying others (Olweus & Limber,2000).In addition, Olweus (1993) reported significantreductions in students' reports of general antisocialbehavior and significant improvements in the so-cial climate of the school. Program effects appearedto be cumulative, with some effects stronger at 20months follow-up than at eight monthspostintervention. Program replications (Melton etal., 1998;Olweus & Limber;Whitney,Rivers,Smith,& Sharp, 1994) also reported positive results. Al-though reductions in bullying were significant,decreasing 16 percent to 35 percent, these effectswere smaller than those found in the original study.

The Bullying Project. The Bullying Project (Davis,2002) is based on the Olweus research in Norway.In addition to adopting a schoolwide zero toler-ance policy on bullying, students are taught how tostand up to bullies, how to get adult help, and howto reach out in friendship to students who may beinvolved in bullying situations. This project alsoincludes interventions for both the bully and thevictim.With the bully, counseling is suggested, withsessions that focus on acknowledging actions, em-pathy development, or restitution. For the victim,various forms of support are suggested—physicalprotection, support group participation with othervictims, or individual therapy. Expressive arts thera-pies are recommended so that victims can write,

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act out, draw, or talk about their experiences. It iscritical for victimized children to articulate theirthoughts and feelings so that internalized negativemessages can be countered with positive ones. Noformal program evaluation data is available for theBullying Project.

Bullybusters. Bullybusters (Beale, 2001) is anandbullying campaign geared to elementary andmiddle school students.The main focus of the cam-paign is the performance of the play "Bullybusters."Students act out short skits about common bully-ing situations in schools to begin classroom discus-sions. After the skits, the principal explains to thestudents that the school has a zero tolerance poUcyfor bullying and asks the students to take positivesteps to alleviate bullying in the school. Bullybustershas not been formally evaluated, but teachers in theschools where the program was implemented re-ported that students seemed to be more willing toreport bullying behavion. Administrators in chargeof student discipline also reported a 20 percent re-duction of bullying incidents during the first yearof the program (Beale)

Additional Intervention StrategiesBehavioral contracts and social skills training maybe helpful for some bullies (Morrison & Sandowicz,1995). Also, bullies must be aware of school policieson bullying and should be held accountable if arule is broken. Because bullying is often commit-ted by a group of children against a single victim,each child in the bullying group may need a chanceto speak, seek support, and receive help to changehis or her behavior. Bullies often need long-termcounseling services (Roberts & Counol, 1996).

Interventions for victims arc less common. Manyvictims cope by trying their best to be invisible.School psychologists and social worken should seekout children who may be victims of bullying. Thisis extremely important because most victims willnot come forth and ask for help. For most victims,being bullied is shameful and frightening. Victimstypically want to hide and do not want to discussthis issue. For some victims, coming to talk aboutbeing bullied may cause embarrassment. Socialworkers and psychologists, therefore, need to begentle and sensitive with victims, normalize theexperience, and make sure the session is not hu-mihating for the child.

The school psychologist or social worker shouldwork to break the victim's isolation. If the victim

can make and maintain one friendship with a peer,the painful consequences of bullying would mark-edly decrease and long-term loss of self-esteem maybe avoided. Psychologists or social workers mightalso try pairing the victim with an older, support-ive peer in a big brother or buddy program to breakthe victim's sense of isolation and loneliness. Thismay also provide some protection and possibly somesocial status for the victim. Outreach is a criticalcomponent because of the nature of bullying. It isnot exa^erating to say that the school psychologist'sor social worker's efforts to be a friendship brokerat this critical time may have a significant impacton this vulnerable child's life that reaches well intoadulthood. Generally, interventions for victimsshould focus on supporting the victim, providingcounseling, and building friendships between thevictim and supportive peers.

Bullying prevention has linkages to youth vio-lence prevention programming. The research lit-erature on youth violence prevention makes clearthat focusing only on the behavior to be elimi-nated is less effective than having a simultaneousfocus on constructing a positive context that is in-consistent with bullying and coercion. Multicom-ponent interventions that focus on the child, his orher family, the school, and the community appearto be particularly efficacious. A number of longitu-dinal investigations have empirically tested multi-component interventions (see for example. Con-duct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1999;Hawkins, Catalano,Kosterman, Abbott,& Hill, 1999;Tremb]ay,Pagani-Kurtz,Masse,Vitaro,& Pihl, 1995).The Surgeon General's Report on Youth Violence(DHHS, 2001) is an excellent guide that classifiesineffective, promising, and model intervention pro-grams based on empirical evidence.

In the school environment, psychologists andsocial worken are often in the best position to in-tervene at multisystem levels. School psychologistsand social workers may detect bullying more eas-ily than other school personnel because they un-derstand the signs and symptoms of a^ressive be-havior and victimization that signal a bullyingproblem.Teachen might refer children who are in-volved in bullying situations to school psycholo-gists and social workers for other reasons (for ex-ample, conduct problems, depression, and suddendrops in academic performance). School psy-chologists and social workers are also in a goodposition to help put pohcies into place that take a

SMOKOWSICI AND KOPASZ / Bullying in School: An Overview 107

comprehensive, schoolwide approach to prevent-ing bullying.

The key ingredient in many bullying interven-tions is maintaining a zero tolerance policy withswift and serious consequences for engaging inbullying.This policy makes a strong statement aboutwhat the school, as a community, is willing to en-dure. All other strategies sit on this foundation.Overall, psycholc^ists and social worken shouldtarget the atmosphere of the school to ensure thatstudents fee! safe. Of utmost importance is con-structing a culture of respect and recognition wherehullying is not only not tolerated hut is not neces-sary. In such a context, everyone works to ensurethat there are no social payoffs for bullying and thatconsequences for bullying behaviors are clear, di-rect, and immediate. In addition, those who havepreviously been involved in bullying can be guidedto discover alternative forms of personal power andmore effective ways to obtain recognition or venttheir frustrations.

The following proven strategies can help fash-ion a school culture that promotes respect, recog-nition, learning, safety, and positive experiences forall students:

• Reach out to victims.• Set and enforce clear rules and consequences

for bullying behaviors.• Supervise students during breaks, especially

on playgrounds, in restrooms, and in busyhallways.

• Engage classes in discussion and activitiesrelated to bullying so that students who mightotherwise watch passively become empow-ered to intervene and victims are allowed tohave a voice without shame.

• Encourage active participation by parentsand other adults, making this a communityissue that is addressed by community ac-tion.

CONCLUSIONUullying is a serious threat not only to those in-volved, but also to the entire school environment.With 30 percent of children reporting involvementin a bullying situation, it is obviously an urgentproblem that negatively affects the lives of manychildren (Nansel etal.,2()01;Olweus, 1993).Bully-ing creates short- and long-term consequences forboth the victim and the bully. Victims may suffer

from low self-esteem, loneliness, depression, anxi-ety, absenteeism, and academic difficulties. Somevictims may resort to violence as a response to bul-lying, either by taking their own lives or harmingother students. Bullies also experience long-termproblems such as low academic achievement, men-tal health difficulties, substance abuse, and crimi-nality later in life. In addition, students not direcdyinvolved in bullying may witness these behaviors.This large, silent majority may not feel safe at schooland this, in turn, may negatively affect the learningprocess for many students.

Many interventions have been developed to dealwith bullying in the school environment. How-ever, most of these interventions have not beenformally evaluated.The most prominent interven-tion is the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program.This program takes a comprehensive approach tobullying, has been evaluated in multiple studies,andhas demonstrated impressive results in reducingbullying behaviors. Although they are not focusedon bullying exclusively, youth violence preventionefforts, especially muiticomponent ones, also ad-dress important concerns (for example, social skillstraining, conflict resolution, and parenting train-ing) associated with bullying, coercion,and aggres-sion.There are excellent resources, such as the Swr-geon General's Report onYouth Violence pHHS,2001) ,to guide the selection of interventions.

When bullying is tolerated, the whole schoolenvironment is tainted and students are unable tolearn, grow, and interact in a safe, positive atmo-sphere. School psychologists and social workers canhelp reduce bullying by implementing effectiveinterventions and working to create a school envi-ronment that prioritizes respect, recognition, secu-rity, and growth for all students. I S

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SMOKOWSKI AND KOPASZ / Bullying in School: An Overview 109

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Paul R. Smokowski, PhD, AfSWf is asiistant professor.

School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill, 301 Pittsboro Street, CB 3550, Chapel Hill,

NC 27599-3550, e-mail: smokou'sk@errtail.urK.edu.

Kelly Holland Kopasz, MSVi^ is a school social worker in

Fort Mill, SC. Send correspondence concerning this article to

Dr Smokowski.

Accepted March 22. 2004

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