Anti-Bullying Interventions: An Overview of Theory and Its Application to School-Based Prevention

Introduction: Theoretically-based and data-driven interventions are necessary to effectively reduce bullying and victimization in schools. A clear theoretical orientation provides a framework to guide researchers in choosing the composition of intervention components, whereas a comprehensive understanding of risk factors for victimization is critical to targeting areas where intervention efforts are most effective. However, it is unclear to what extent interventions are motivated by and executed with both a specific theoretical orientation and empirical data in mind. To address this, the current study: (1) identified theoretical orientations of anti-bullying interventions, and evaluated how well these theories match with intervention components, (2) summarized empirical research to create a taxonomy of risk factors for bullying and peer victimization, and compared identified risk factors to intervention content and implementation, and (3) assessed the success of interventions in reducing bullying in relation to their adherence to the stated theoretical orientation and risk factors.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, we examined 23 distinct anti-bullying programs implemented in elementary schools across the United States, with peer-reviewed, published evaluations. Interventions ranged in theoretical orientation from the all-encompassing (ecological framework) to the individual-focused (psychoanalytic theory). Programs were evaluated for adherence to the stated theoretical orientation, components that addressed specific risk factors for victimization, and reported success in reducing bullying and victimization post-intervention.

Results: We found a wide range of both theoretical application and knowledge of established risk factors to the interventions studied. Most interventions did not have all of the necessary components, both in content and delivery that would be expected from the theoretical orientation of the intervention or identified risk factors. For example, most ecologically-based interventions did not show a complete match to ecological theory, as they lacked an individual or community component to their interventions. Overall, programs that were successful in reducing bullying and/or behaviors had a better match between theory and intervention implementation than those programs who didn’t. Ninety-two percent of the interventions that completely matched in theoretical and empirical implementation also successfully decreased victimization or bullying post-intervention, compared to only 20% of the interventions that did not match.

Conclusions: The success of the interventions may partly depend on incorporating a strong theoretical perspective and what we know about the correlates of bullying and victimization. Future research should focus on developing interventions with attention to a strong theoretical and empirical focus, and statistically comparing the effectiveness of interventions based on these factors.