ERIC Number: EJ977426
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0279-6015
EISSN: N/A
A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Bullying Prevention Programs' Effects on Bystander Intervention Behavior
Polanin, Joshua R.; Espelage, Dorothy L.; Pigott, Therese D.
School Psychology Review, v41 n1 p47-65 2012
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 = 0.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11 to 0.29, p = 0.001), 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 less than 0.05). 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 = 0.05, 95% CI = -0.07 to 0.17, p = 0.45). 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. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Intervention, Bullying, Prevention, Program Effectiveness, Empathy, Meta Analysis, Peer Relationship, Program Evaluation, Elementary School Students, Secondary School Students, Incidence, Victims, Effect Size
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A