Abstract
This meta-analysis synthesized bullying prevention programs' effectiveness at increasing bystander intervention in bullying situations. Evidence from 12 school-based programs, involving 12,874 students, indicated that overall the programs were successful (Hedges's g =. 20, 95% confidence interval [CI] =.11 to.29, p <.001), with larger effects for high school (HS) samples compared to kindergarten through eighth-grade (K-8) student samples (HS effect size [ES] = 0.43, K-8 ES = 0.14; p <.05). A secondary synthesis from eight of the studies that reported empathy for the victim revealed treatment effectiveness that was positive but not significantly different from zero (g =. 05, 95% CI = -.07 to.17, p =.45). Nevertheless, this meta-analysis indicated that programs increased bystander intervention both on a practical and statistically significant level. These results suggest that researchers and school administrators should consider implementing programs that focus on bystander intervention behavior supplementary to bullying prevention programs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 47-65 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | School Psychology Review |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Mar 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Education
- Developmental and Educational Psychology