RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM THE ALBERTI CENTER FOR BULLYING ABUSE PREVENTION

GSE Research SymposiumApril 5, 2012

Heather Cosgrove, Michelle Serwacki, and Bryan Blumlein

Moderator: Dr. Amanda Nickerson

Overview of Presentation

About the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention

Needs Assessment Findings Development of School-Wide Bullying

Prevention Program Guide Evaluation of the PREPaRE: School Crisis

Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum

Amanda B. Nickerson, Ph.D.

About the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention

About the Alberti Center

Dr. Jean M. Alberti

Officially launched in July 2011

Benefactor: Jean M. Alberti, Ph.D.

Director: Amanda B. Nickerson, Ph.D.

Mission Statement:

The Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention will reduce bullying abuse in schools by contributing knowledge and providing research-based tools to actively change the language, attitudes, and behaviors of educators, parents, students, and society.

Heather E. Cosgrove

Needs Assessment Findings

Purpose

Identify current state of affairs in regards to bullying prevention and intervention in greater Buffalo region Implemented as part of the start-up phase

for the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention

Find potential gaps in services and needs

Procedure

Individual meetings Group meetings

Quantitative surveyQualitative theme

identification

Needs Assessment

Quantitative Measure

Adapted from the Survey of Bullying and Harassment Prevention and Intervention Strategies (Sherer & Nickerson, 2010) 31 items assessing frequency of use of

prevention/intervention strategies Level of concern about different types of

bullying Formal anti-bullying programming in schools Need for improvement in schools Conference interest and type preferences

Survey Results

Type of Bullying

Not Concerne

d

Slightly Concerne

d

Concerned

Strongly Concerne

d

Mean

Physical 9 (5.5%) 70 (42.4%)

63 (38.2%)

20 (12.1%)

2.58 (.78)

Verbal 1 (0.6%) 13 (7.9%) 63 (38.2%)

86 (52.1%)

3.44 (.67)

Relational 2 (1.2%) 25 (15.2%)

77 (46.7%)

58 (35.2%)

3.18 (.73)

Cyberbullying

6 (3.6%) 22 (13.3%)

40 (24.2%)

93 (56.4%)

3.37 (.86)

Table 1. Concerns about Types of Bullying

Formal programs being used: Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Positive Behavioral Interventions and

Supports (PBIS) Rachel’s Challenge Second Step

Survey Results

Table 2. Prevention and Intervention strategies being used

Conference findings: Peer relationships and bullying Parents and bullying Cyberbullying

Qualitative Themes

Cost Effectiveness (and Funding) Empirically Supported Programming Investment of Staff/Parents Staff Development Parent/Community Education

Conclusions

Strong concern for verbal, relational, and cyberbullying

Common strategies: staff intervention and disciplinary consequences Student involvement and parent/education

training used less Themes: more education, additional funding,

access to resources Desire for events centering on peer

relationships, cyberbullying, and parents and bullying

Action Items

Education Resources Conferences

Include Parents and

PeersFunding

AVAILABLE AT:http://gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter/resources/educators

Additional resources available for Educators/Parents/Kids and Teens/Researchers: Understanding Bullying Measuring Bullying Social Emotional Learning and

Bullying Prevention Dignity for All Students Act Bullying and Harassment Teaching Tools: Respect for

Diversity and LBGTQ Youth Bullying and State Legislation Bullying and Suicide School Safety and Crisis

Resources Cyberbullying Videos and Webisodes;

informational and teaching tools

Michelle L. SerwackiBryan M. Blumlein

Development of School-WideBullying Prevention Program Guide

Hazler, R.J., & Carney, J.V. (2012) Critical characteristics of effective bullying prevention programs. In: Jimerson SR, Nickerson AB, Mayer MJ, Furlong M, eds. Handbook of school violence and school safety: International research and practice. 2nd ed. New York; NY: Routledge; 357-368.Rigby K. (2000). Effects of peer victimization in schools and perceived social support on adolescent well-being. Journal of Adolescence, 23(1):57-68.Ttofi, M.M., & Farrington, D.P., (2011). Effectiveness of school-based programs to reduce bullying: A systematic and meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 7(1):27-56.Swearer, S.M., Espelage, D.L., Napolitano, S.A. (2009). Bullying prevention & intervention: Realistic strategies for schools. New York, NY US: Guilford Press.

Bullying Preventi

on in Schools

Collect Data

Whole-School Anti-

Bullying Policy

Skill Developme

nt

Increase Awareness

& Supervisio

n

Respond Along

Continuum

Include Parents

Purpose

To provide educators guidance on how to choose from the many bullying prevention programs available Need identified from focus groups from

2010 Alberti Center Symposium Focus on programs that reflect evidence-

based practice Focus on programs that provide universal,

school-wide support

Selection Criteria

Be geared toward PreK- 12 students

Include content focused mainly on bullying prevention alone or in combination with skills needed for social-emotional success

Be based on solid research and theory

Include universal (school-wide) interventions

Be researched and evaluated in the United States

Programsmust…

Steps for Successful Implementation

Mihalic, S.(n.d.). Implementation fidelity: Blueprints for Violence Prevention.Safe Schools Healthy Students (2010). Evidenced-based program home. Retrieved from http://sshs.promoteprevent.org/node/4789. Accessed March 9, 2012.Smith, D.J., Schneider, B.H., Smith, P.K., & Ananiadou, K. (2004). The effectiveness of whole-school antibullying programs: A synthesis of evaluation research. School Psychology Review, 33(4), 547-560.

Use data to improve practice

Evaluate program outcomes

Monitor and evaluate fidelity of implementation

Implement programs with fidelity

Select programs based on needs and feasibility

Needs assessment: identify nature and extent of the problem

Content of Guide

Overview Selection of Programs Considerations in Selecting and Implementing Programs Programs

Publisher/Author Website Targeted Grades/Ages Summary of program goals, curriculum, and materials Cost(s) Evaluations/Reviews of program from other organizations Empirical References

References

Final Programs Included:

Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices Bully Busters Bullying Prevention in Positive Behavioral

Intervention and Support Bullying-Proofing Your School Creating a Safe School Get Real About Violence Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Second Step: A Violence Prevention Curriculum Steps to Respect: A Bullying Prevention Program

AVAILABLE AT:http://gse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter/resources/educators

Additional resources available for Educators/Parents/Kids and Teens/Researchers: Understanding Bullying Measuring Bullying Social Emotional Learning and

Bullying Prevention Dignity for All Students Act Bullying and Harassment Teaching Tools: Respect for

Diversity and LBGTQ Youth Bullying and State Legislation Bullying and Suicide School Safety and Crisis

Resources Cyberbullying Videos and Webisodes;

informational and teaching tools

Michelle L. Serwacki

Evaluation of the PREPaRE: Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum

School Crisis Prevention and Intervention

Prevent and prepare for psychological trauma

Reaffirm physical health, security, and safety

Evaluate psychological trauma

Provide information

and Respond to psychological needs and,

Examine the effectiveness of prevention and intervention efforts

PREPaRE Training

Workshop 1 Workshop 2 Crisis Intervention and

Recovery: The Roles of the School-based Mental Health Professional

Two day training School crisis team members

Crisis Prevention and Preparedness: The Comprehensive School Crisis Team

Full day training School-based mental health

professionals, administrators, security professionals, and educators

Format:*Workshops offered nationally by trainers and program authors Pre-test Manualized curriculum

PowerPoint Role play activities Handouts

Post-test Evaluation form

Rationale

PREPaRE

Increased Knowledge in and Attitude toward crisis management

Increased competence in crisis management

Crisis/Trauma

Effective prevention or intervention: Restored child academic and emotional functioning Program

Evaluation

Program Evaluation

Final Sample Workshop 1

Evaluations: N= 515 Pre-Post Tests: N=760

Workshop 2: Evaluations: N=505 Pre-Post Tests: N=1089

Missing Data Excluded if missing pre or

post test Missing data on pre-post

knowledge items were assumed incorrect

Pairwise deletion used for missing data on attitude items

Workshop 1Mental HealthEducatorsHealth CareSafetyOther

Workshop 2

Mental HealthEducatorsHealth CareSafetyOther

Participant Satisfaction

Objectives clearly stated

Content clear and understandable

Materials well organized

Trainer well organized

Workshop materials faciliated participation

Trainer facilitated participation

Workshop increased my knowledge

Able to apply skills/information

Recommend workshop

Recommend trainers

1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Workshop 1 (N=515,M= 3.55, SD=.60)

Workshop 2 (N=761, M=3.63, SD=.65)

All items on a 1-4 scale, with 1 meaning strongly disagree and 4 meaning strongly

agree

Evaluation: Workshop 1Crisis Prevention and Preparedness

Significant Improvement (t(742) =20.45, p < .001, d=.77 )

Significant Improvement (t (759)= -33.10, p <.001, d=1.55 )

PRE POST0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.55

3.323.79

0.57 0.65

MEAN SD

PRE POST0123456789

10

5.32

8.26

1.69 2.09

MEAN SD

Attitude Knowledge

Evaluation: Workshop 2Crisis Intervention and Recovery

Attitude Significant Improvement (t (1017) =34.68, p<.001, d=1.10 )

Knowledge Significant Improvement (t (1087)= 42.88, p <.001, d=1.61 )

PRE POST0

1

2

3

4

2.99

3.7

0.770.49

MEAN SD

PRE POST0

2

4

6

8

10

12

7.29

10.53

1.99 2.03

MEAN SD

Future Directions

Continued evaluation of training Current data collected from November 2009 though May 2011 Additional data to be added from June 2011- November 2011

Follow-up evaluation and support Implementation Barriers to implementation

PREPaRE Edition 2 (2011) WS1: Crisis Prevention and Preparedness: Comprehensive School

Safety Planning WS2: Crisis Intervention and Recovery: The Roles of School-Based

Mental Health Professionals

More information available athttp://www.nasponline.org/prepare/index.aspx

Thank you for your attention and interest!

Questions?