Citation

Frey KS, Hirschstein MK, Snell JL, Edstrom LV, MacKenzie EP, Broderick CJ. Dev. Psychol. 2005; 41(3): 479-490.

Affiliation

Department of Educational Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. kfrey@cfchildren.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/0012-1649.41.3.479

PMID

15910156

Abstract

Six schools were randomly assigned to a multilevel bullying intervention or a control condition. Children in Grades 3-6 (N=1,023) completed pre- and posttest surveys of behaviors and beliefs and were rated by teachers. Observers coded playground behavior of a random subsample (n=544). Hierarchical analyses of changes in playground behavior revealed declines in bullying and argumentative behavior among intervention-group children relative to control-group children, increases in agreeable interactions, and a trend toward reduced destructive bystander behavior. Those in the intervention group reported enhanced bystander responsibility, greater perceived adult responsiveness, and less acceptance of bullying/aggression than those in the control group. Self-reported aggression did not differ between the groups. Implications for future research on the development and prevention of bullying are discussed.

Language: en