Bullying in Youth Bullying in Youth A Brief Overview A Brief - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Bullying in Youth Bullying in Youth A Brief Overview A Brief Overview Tom Tarshis M.D., M.P.H. Board-Certified Adult, Adolescent and Child Psychiatrist Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Stanford University AACAP Spokesperson on Bullying Director, Bay Area Children’s Association

Pre- -Test I Test I Pre � Which Group of Children has the worst long-term consequences from bullying behavior � A. Bullies � B. Victims � C. Neither, all kids do fine eventually A. Bullies

Pre- -test II test II Pre � In what percent of school shootings, based on a Secret Service study, had the perpetrator been identified as a victim ◦ A. 15% ◦ B. 25% ◦ C. 50% ◦ D. 70% D. 70%

Pre- -test III test III Pre � True or False: Laws are better designed to protect adults in the workplace than children in school True

Definition - - I I Definition � What is bullying? � Historically : Overt aggression (hitting, kicking, pushing) in males. � More recently, recognition of other forms of bullying: ◦ Relational aggression: “harming others through purposeful manipulation and damage of peer relationships”. ◦ Direct and Indirect Bullying ◦ CyberBullying

Definition - - II II Definition Quick Definition: “The systematic abuse of power” Standard definition: (3 key criteria):` The bully exhibits behavior directed towards the victim that 1) is designed to hurt, harm, or damage the victim physically, socially or emotionally. 2) The behavior only occurs when there is an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim (bully having more) 3) The bullying behavior happens repeatedly over time

Definition - - III III Definition Resiliency/ Threshold 1) Bullying effects can vary dramatically between youth 2) What seems to be “minor” to an adult or other peer may have severe mental health consequences to an individual 3) Resiliency – How fast youth “recover” from bullying event

Prevalence I Prevalence I � United States Data (Nansel et al, 2001) In 1998, Survey completed by 15,686 students in 6 th through 10 th grades � 29.9% with moderate or frequent involvement in bullying ◦ 13.0% identified as bullies ◦ 10.6% as victims ◦ 6.3% both bully and victim Weekly involvement: Bullies: 8.8% Victims: 8.4%

Prevalence II – – International Data International Data Prevalence II Involvement in bullying more than twice during the current school term in 25 countries Nansel, T. R. et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158:730-736.

Prevalence III – – Younger Younger Prevalence III Children Children � N= 264, Data collected from 1 public and 1 private school in CA, 1 public school in AZ, Grades 3-6, � “In the past week..” Bullied Victimized Teased: 11.0% 34.9% Push, Hit: 7.2% 23.9% Mean Things: 11.1% 37.1%

Mental Health Correlations - - I I Mental Health Correlations Being Victimized � Depression � Generalized Anxiety � Social Anxiety � Loneliness � Low Self-esteem � Suicidal Ideation ◦ 2 – 8 times increased risk of self-harm

Mental Health Correlations - - II II Mental Health Correlations Being a Bully � Depression � Suicidal Ideation � ADHD � Predictive of future adult criminal activity

Mental Health Correlations - - III III Mental Health Correlations th graders) Younger Kids (4 th -6 6 th graders) th - Younger Kids (4 Bullies Victims Bully- - Bullies Victims Bully Victims Victims N=95 N=95 Anxiety R = 0.28 R = 0.32 R = 0.35 Anxiety R = 0.28 R = 0.32 R = 0.35 (MASC) (MASC) Depression R = 0.49 R = 0.49 R = 0.57 Depression R = 0.49 R = 0.49 R = 0.57 (CDI) (CDI) P < 0.01 for all associations P < 0.01 for all associations

Warning Signs Warning Signs More Clear Less Clear � Ripped Clothes � Somatic Complaints headache, stomachaches, � Bruises body pains � Hunger � Problems sleeping � Lost Items on school nights � Asking for $ � Truancy � Withdrawing � Sudden loss of friends

Identification Identification � Questions for kids: ◦ Who do you usually eat lunch with? ◦ How many kids hang out in your group? � Observations: ◦ Spending time with peers ◦ Changes in computer/texting/cell phone usage

Interventions Interventions � Prevention is the best medicine ! ◦ Data suggests the biggest factor to prevent bullying and victimization is a large group of friends ◦ From young age, encourage friendships ◦ Involvement in well-run, extracurricular activities often valuable preventive measure ◦ Regular communication time with children is highly beneficial

Evidence- - Based Bullying Based Bullying Evidence Interventions Interventions All Interventions are through school. The interventions are characterized as: 1. Social and Behavioral Skills Group Training 2. Increased Staff (mentoring/social workers) 3. Curriculum 4. Whole-School, Multidisciplinary , Community Involvement Model

Intervention - - Results Results Intervention Social and Behavioral Skills/Group Training � Perhaps okay for younger kids, poor results for older than 6 th grade Increased Staff (mentoring/social workers) � Very costly but some benefit to individual kids Curriculum � In general poor results, including sometimes causing an increase in bullying/victimization Whole-School, Multidisciplinary � Most promising, majority of studies with positive results

Bystander Involvement Bystander Involvement � For Youth Piece of Interventions: ◦ Data supports pulling in the “bystander” students (the 40 to 60% of kids not involved as bullies or victims) to get involved in calling out bullies on there behavior and supporting victims

� Founded in 2007, non-profit, evidence-based mental health clinic for children and families � Part of CATCH (Collaborative approach to Children’s Mental Health) Services, seeking to revolutionize mental health care for children in the U.S. � Seek to provide excellent, integrated services to all clients � Working on funding for evidence-based, anti- bullying programs. Current focus on assessment of teacher/staff attitudes towards bullying

Take Home Message Take Home Message � Bullying and Victimization are commonplace among youth, beginning at young ages � Both physical and mental health symptoms are highly correlated with being involved in bullying (either as the victim or perpetrator) � Research suggests that multidisciplinary community based approaches may be the only effective programs to truly reduce bullying

Thank you for your time! Book for Teenagers: Living With Peer Pressure and Bullying Published April 2010 www.baca.org ttarshis@baca.org