Research shows that verbal bullying (“relational aggression”) increases during grades 3 to 6, emphasizing the importance of school bullying prevention efforts in early grades. According to a new randomized controlled study of 610 third- through sixth-grade students in six elementary schools in the Pacific Northwest, a program that encourages students to reject playground gossip can protect victims from social isolation and more severe bullying later on.
The study showed that the bullying prevention program Steps to Respect reduced playground gossip, verbal bullying, and name calling by 72%. Steps to Respect trains teachers and other school staff to intervene effectively in bullying situations while training students in assertiveness and other social skills. A main focus of the program is to establish nonaggressive behavior as the school norm. The new study reinforces other research showing that bullying is a function of a school’s overall climate and that it involves not just the bully and the victim, but also onlookers who enable the bully and adults who ignore the problem.
Low, S., Frey, Karin, and Brockman, Callie, “Gossip on the Playground: Changes Associated With Universal Intervention, Retaliation Beliefs, and Supportive Friends,” School Psychology Review, 2010, Volume 39, No. 4, pp. 536–551.
