Bachelor of Arts, Marietta College, 2015, Psychology

Incidents of bullying have been making news headlines recently, from teenagers committing suicide because of cyberbullying to twelve-year-olds harassing their bus monitor. Bullying has been the focus of much attention in middle schools and high schools. There have been many bullying prevention programs implemented nationwide in the past twenty years. Many models have been produced following the first, which was implemented in Norway in 1983 (Ttofi & Farrington, 2010). However, due to the fact that cyberbullying did not exist 20 years ago, many of these prevention programs have not evolved to combat current problems. This research project sought to understand the prevalence and perception of bullying events in middle and high school students. This study is a between-subjects design. Students were asked to rate the severity of various bullying scenarios (featuring verbal, physical, cyberbullying, or no bullying). Results indicate that physical bullying is interpreted as the most severe form of bullying. The results also suggest education does not have an effect on participants' incidences of reporting being a bully or a victim. Further, the results did not suggest that the sex of the bully or victim has an affect on participants' interpretations of severity.

Committee: Alicia Doerflinger Ph. D. (Advisor); Mark Sibicky Ph. D. (Committee Member); Javier Jimenez Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Demographics; Developmental Psychology; Education; Educational Psychology; Gender Studies; Mental Health; Psychology; School Administration; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Teaching

PHD, Kent State University, 2014, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to examine the perceptions of administrators and other support staff in public middle schools across the United States regarding the current bullying prevention/treatment program being used in their school building and whether it is effective with all types of students, regardless of academic standing (particularly the effectiveness for students with learning disabilities). Secondary purposes included surveying administrators and other support staff about the differences in bullying behaviors between LD students and students not on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and soliciting feedback from administrators to determine disciplinary procedures when an LD student is a bullying victim. The survey was distributed to public middle school principals, assistant principals, school psychologists, and school counselors across the United States. A correlational ex post facto design was used, and the survey instrument used was created by combining two surveys from previously published studies. The instrument data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and an independent samples t-test. Findings revealed significant differences amongst the administrator and school psychologist populations regarding the effectiveness of anti-bullying programs for all student populations (including the learning disabled). Further, findings indicated significant differences between school psychologists and the other populations surveyed with respect to the frequency of learning disabled students as victims of bullying. The results support a greater need for specialized bullying prevention programs, more intervention for this population following incidents of bullying, and heightened sensitivity with respect to the overall safety of students placed on IEP’s.

Committee: Catherine Hackney Ph.D. (Advisor); Jason McGlothlin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Christa Boske Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Counseling Psychology; Developmental Psychology; Education; Educational Leadership; Educational Psychology; Psychology; School Administration; School Counseling

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Education : Counselor Education

An ecological approach to bullying prevention is critical for the reduction of bullying and victimization. Any intervention implemented in a school to reduce bullying should include a variety of targets on all levels of the ecology and these interventions need to be sustainable by the school following introduction of the intervention. Schools are more aware today that bullying victimization causes harm to all those involved. Victims of school bullying suffer from increased mental health problems, perpetrators of bullying are more likely to enter the legal system and school communities have a more negative school culture that makes it harder for students to learn. States are requiring schools to be more accountable for eliminating bullying in school and schools respond by implementing research-based bullying prevention programs. The Olweus Bullying Prevention program has demonstrated effectiveness in elementary schools yet has limited research on its effectiveness in high schools. Considerable research has demonstrated the effectiveness of Olweus Bullying Prevention program in reducing bullying, victimization and other school related problems. However, less is known about the program's impact to reduce bullying behaviors in high school settings. The present study aimed at evaluating the Olweus Bullying Prevention program in a high school setting. Two high schools in the Midwestern region participated in the study with one school as the experiment school by implementing the Olweus program during one academic year. 699 students completed the Olweus Bully/Victim questionnaire at the beginning and end of the school year. The within group repeated design was employed to investigate the pre and post implementation difference and the MANOVA was performed to compare the differences in bullying and victimization between control and experimental school. The results showed no statistically significant effect of the intervention for reducing bullying others or bullying victimiza (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mei Tang Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Ellen Cook Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lynn Rapin Ph.D. (Committee Member); Laura Stith Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behaviorial Sciences; Educational Theory; Psychology; Teacher Education; Teaching

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2011, Psychology

Bullying is prevalent in schools across the United States, and associated with negative psychological, social, behavioral, and academic outcomes. To reduce bullying, schools implement a wide array of prevention programs, most of which have limited, if any, empirical support. The lack of evidence that current bullying prevention strategies are effective substantiates the need for additional research, including exploration of new and innovative approaches. The current study explores the process and outcomes of engaging youth in planning, implementing, and evaluating bullying prevention efforts. Across three schools, 32 fifth grade students participated in the Youth Bullying Prevention Program, a participatory action research (PAR) program that engaged them in research and action to prevent bullying in their schools. A mixed-method, longitudinal study design combined observations and survey data to investigate what students do when invited to participate in bullying prevention and the impact of youth-led bullying prevention on student participants and their school communities. The findings suggest that fifth grade students can engage in research and action to prevent bullying, are generally excited about this opportunity, and approach the task differently across schools. Additionally, the findings suggest that youth-led bullying prevention programs are associated with a school-wide decrease in fear of being bullied and increase in student and school staff intervention to stop bullying. The study supports further exploration of youth engagement in PAR and bullying prevention.

Committee: Paul Flaspohler Ph.D (Committee Chair); Carl Paternite Ph.D (Committee Member); Vaishali Raval Ph.D (Committee Member); Rose Marie Ward Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Educational Psychology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2011, Psychology

The negative consequences of bullying on a student's mental and physical health have been documented in the literature as has the link between bullying, mental/physical health and academic outcomes. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) is an evidence-based violence prevention program aimed at reducing bullying and increasing school climate. There are many health and mental health related problems facing our youth today. There are also good, evidence-based programs to address these problems; however, these evidence-based programs are not being implemented with fidelity and therefore not achieving the optimal outcomes. Research has shown that the OBPP has produced significant reductions in bullying when it is implemented with fidelity and much research has looked at the frequency and consequences of bullying on the mental health and well-being of children. The current study steps back one level from this research and focuses on how we can improve the implementation quality of evidence-based programs to ensure that we can benefit the most from those programs. Evidence-based programs aimed at the promotion of the well-being of youth are only as effective as how well they are implemented. This study explored the reliability, validity and utility of the Implementation Monitoring Tool for assessing implementation of the OBPP. Results indicate acceptable reliability and validity of the IMT as well as support the potential utility of the IMT to schools. Significant difficulties recruiting participants in this study highlighted an important concern regarding participation and accountability on the part of those implementing evidence-based programs as well as the trainers and training directors of the program.

Committee: Paul Flaspohler PhD (Committee Chair); Carl Paternite PhD (Committee Member); Karen Schilling PhD (Committee Member); Leonard J. Smart PhD (Committee Member); Jhan Doughty Berry PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Psychology/Developmental

Electronic bullying, commonly referred to as “cyberbullying,” is a type of bullying that uses electronic devices such as cell phones and the internet to harass, intimidate, and bully others. Electronic bullying has become a more prevalent issue and public health problem in our society. Electronic bullying expands upon traditional bullying territory and provides more routes and access for bullies to aggress upon their victims – often anonymously. This study aimed at finding how familiarity with a bully's identity related to consequences of bullying found in previous research such as anxiety, fear, depression, and feelings of control (the focus variables). It also aimed at exploring children's beliefs about prevention techniques to stop electronic bullying. Participants were one-hundred and thirty-eight 5th through 9th graders in Ohio. Anxiety, depression, and fear were predicted by bullying experience. Those who had been electronically bullied rated themselves higher on these variables. A significant relationship was not found between familiarity and the focus variables. Prevention techniques were explored with participants who had been bullied indicating what actions they used to stop electronic bullying in the past, which of those they believed were successful, and which techniques they would consider using in the future. Implications, sex and grade differences, and future directions are discussed.

Committee: Marie Tisak PhD (Advisor); Carolyn Tompsett PhD (Committee Member); John Tisak PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Developmental Psychology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2012, Psychology

This study examines how parental hostility, parental depression, and overall parenting skills contribute to child bullying and the effectiveness of the ACT Parents Raising Safe Kids (ACT-PRSK) program at reducing child bullying. Seventy-two parent participants completed a parent symptom inventory, parenting skills measure, and child symptom inventory, which evaluated the presence of child bullying behaviors. Of the 72 parent participants, twenty-five participated in the ACT-PRSK program and 27 parent participants served as comparisons. Results indicate that parental hostility is the only significant predictor of child bullying for the entire sample. Data suggests, however, that there may be a difference in the relationship between parental factors and child bullying by child gender. Furthermore, results show that the ACT-PRSK group evidenced a significant reduction in bullying behaviors, suggesting this intervention can make an important contribution to the prevention of bullying and that parental hostility should be a significant component addressed in bullying prevention.

Committee: Jeanne Brockmyer Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Michele Knox Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Wesley Bullock Ph.D. (Committee Member); Alice Skeens Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mojisola Tiamiyu Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology