Bully Prevention

• Physically or verbally attacking someone
• Making threats
• Spreading rumors
• Intentionally excluding someone from a group

Why is it important to stop bullying behavior?

Students who are bullied are more likely to be depressed or experience anxiety, show signs of health problems, and demonstrate decreased academic achievement.

Students who engage in bullying behavior are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, engage in delinquent behavior, drop out of school, commit domestic violence.

Foundations of Bully Prevention?

Experts are more frequently referring to a positive school climate as they address prevention of bully behavior. Research from national organizations (e.g., COPS, US Department of Justice), state centers (e.g., Missouri Center for Safe Schools) and well known bully prevention voices (Olweus, Senn), reveal certain common features for establishing such a positive school climate:

• Teach and reinforce behavior expectations
• Create a culture where everyone belongs
• Nurture positive relationships between staff and students
• Operationally define what is bullying behavior
• Create systems for anonymously reporting instances of bullying behavior
• Take student reports seriously
• Implement a school wide approach
• Clearly defined rules and consequences
• Teach students strategies to support students who are bullied
• Teach students how to avoid reinforcing bullying behaviors
• Teach students strategies such as S.T.O.P. to interrupt bullying behavior
• Teach students strategies to “stand up” if they can do so safely
• Provide teachers with effect classroom management training

The flipboxes, below, provide links to various resources to help schools and families to leverage the SW-PBS framework to effectively address these challenges.