Bullying bibliography

Cyberbullying impacts on the wellbeing, schooling, family and peer relationships of many young people. The current study of 548 young Australians revealed that cyberbullying is a group phenomenon most prevalent during the transitional ages between primary and secondary school. It takes on many forms and shows an overlap in roles between 'bully' and 'victim'. Despite the serious emotional impacts of cyberbullying, over a quarter of victims did not seek support from others, which highlights the need for more information and support to be given to young people to encourage them to speak out. (Journal abstract)

Children's health and wellbeing in Australia is adversely affected by increasing disadvantage, social exclusion, and vulnerability, with numerous studies confirming the need for an improved societal response to the needs of children and their families. This review highlights the issues facing Australian primary school aged children and their families, and it examines approaches for working with those from diverse backgrounds who have varying health needs. While there are considerable gaps in the literature, findings echo some of the preventative messages from early childhood studies which suggest that neighbourhoods and communities play a crucial role in promoting children's health, wellbeing, and social inclusion through the middle years. Research further suggests that practitioners should engage in a holistic approach to children's health and welfare and offer support across multiple domains of development, giving attention to both cultural and contextual factors. This paper will conclude with some recommendations for future research and a discussion about the implications for practice. (Journal abstract)

"Providing an evidence-based understanding of the causes and consequences of violence against children, experts in the field examine the best practices used to help protect children from violence. Various types of violence are reviewed including physical and sexual abuse, (cyber-)bullying, human trafficking, online predators, abductions, and war. In addition, it reviews the various perpetrators of such violence including parents and relatives, strangers, other children, and societal institutions. The possible outcomes of such violence including physical injuries, death, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, and damage to the social fabric of the local community are also explored."--Book jacket.

This report provides updated data on how Australia's children are faring. Based around a framework of key national indicators of child health, development and wellbeing, including the Children's Headline Indicators, the report seeks to answer: How healthy are Australia's children? How well are we promoting healthy child development? What factors can affect children adversely? What kind of families and communities do Australia's children live in? How safe and secure are Australia's children? How well is the system performing in delivering quality health, development and wellbeing actions to Australia's children? The report finds that though most children are faring well, there is room for improvement, in particular for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children in remote areas, and in the areas of diabetes, obesity, assault, and homelessness. Data are supplied from numerous sources, and are current to 2002-2007, as available, and include mortality, disability, breastfeeding, dental health, physical activity, nutrition, early childhood education, transition to school, literacy and numeracy, social and emotional development, teenage births, birth weight, alcohol and tobacco use during pregnancy, family functioning, family economic situation, parental health, non-parental care, neighbourhood safety, social capital, injuries, bullying, child abuse, violence, crime, homelessness, immunisation and screening, child care, and child protection.

Aggression in childhood escalates in toddlerhood, as children learn to regulate their emotions. This is the natural age to help children manage aggressive behaviour, and hopefully prevent later bullying behaviour. This article looks at strategies for addressing aggressive behaviour in preschool children, with adults providing supportive behaviour to understand the causes of any aggressive behaviour and build a sense of safety and connection in children.

This study examined the role of emotional dysregulation and coping responses to peer provocation in predicting peer victimisation. Participants were 255 children aged 11-14 years who were assessed on two occasions at a 3-month interval. Cross-sectionally, gender was found to moderate the relationship between emotional dysregulation and victimisation. Girls who reported high levels of victimisation tended to experience problems in the emotional regulation of anger and greater use of internalising and aggressive coping strategies. Boys who reported high levels of victimisation were more likely to experience emotional dysregulation of sadness and reported greater use of internalising coping responses. Longitudinally, emotional dysregulation of anger, and coping responses to peer provocation that involve aggressive reactions or expressions of emotional distress, increased the risk of future victimisation in both genders. Preventive interventions should include training in emotional regulation and coping skills for children at risk of persistent victimisation. (Journal abstract)

Aimed at child care workers and early childhood educators, this booklet provides advice on dealing with bullying from an early age. It describes strategies to help children who are bullied as well as children with bullying behaviours, and to gain skills in objectively assessing situations. Other chapters discuss the responsibility of early childhood educators and strategies for working with parents.

One in five teenagers will experience a mental health problem before they are eighteen years of age. This book is a guide to identifying, managing and preventing depression in teenagers. It discusses the difference between sadness and depression, parenting styles that can assist in prevention, how to resolve conflicts between parents and teenagers, and how to live a healthy lifestyle that is conducive to mental health. Management of stress and positive experiences at school are also covered, and parents need to know that depression may be prevented and treated without medication. The book looks at the additional problems teenagers increasingly face, those of bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, unwanted pregnancy and homelessness. It concludes by listing useful resources for help.

A cohort of young people undertaking a secondary education certificate was used to study the nature of cyberbullying within a TAFE setting. Cyberbullying is less prevalent in TAFE institutes than in secondary schools, but still causes distress and disruption to classes. The study revealed differences between young people's conceptions and formal definitions of cyberbullying. The researchers concluded that TAFE institutes should adopt pro-active strategies to address cyberbullying, despite signigficant differences between TAFE and school settings. (Journal abstract)

"The 2007 Families and Children Study (FACS) is the ninth in a series of annual surveys to investigate the circumstances of British families with dependent children. The study began in 1999 with a survey of all lone parent families and low/moderate-income couples. In 2001 the third annual study was enlarged to be representative of all families with dependent children. This report presents statistics based on a representative snapshot of the circumstances of all families with dependent children in 2007. The report is divided into two parts. Chapters 2 to 10 look at a distinct feature of family life. Some of the chapters focus on the circumstances of the family unit - such as housing, income and material well being - some on the circumstances of the adults in the family (the 'mother figure' mainly but also her partner if relevant) - such as work and health. Chapters 11 to 16 look at a distinct feature of children's lives - such as health and schooling, childcare, child maintenance and some on the circumstances of the children in the family."--P. 7.

"This research report is the third in a series of studies undertaken by the Australian Childhood Foundation, Child Abuse Research Australia and Quantum that seek the views of children and young people about their experiences of childhood in Australia today. It specifically seeks to further explore children's sense of safety. A national representative sample of 600 children and young people aged between 10-14 years across Australia completed an online survey in April 2007."--P. 8.

Bullying and harassment are pervasive problems in schools and continue to be a matter of great concern among parents, teachers and others working with children and young people. This paper examines bullying and its impact on young people's health and wellbeing, and the significance of family relationships in dealing with bullying behaviour. Family relationships practitioners can play an important part in managing bullying concerns with affected families by offering a collaborative approach to the school-based bullying problem. Strategies discussed in this paper include providing helpful information, making referrals to appropriate resources, and guiding families through the process of working together with the school to address the concern. (Author abstract, edited)

"Children are the most criminally victimized segment of the population, and a substantial number face multiple, serious "poly-victimizations" during a single year. And despite the fact that priority in academic research and government policy has traditionally been given to studying juvenile delinquents, children actually appear before authorities more frequently as victims than as offenders." "In this book, David Finkelhor presents a new vision to encompass the prevention, treatment, and study of juvenile victims, unifying conventional subdivisions such as child molestation, child abuse, bullying, and exposure to community violence. Developmental victimology, his term for this integrated perspective, looks at child victimization across childhood's span and yields insights about how to categorize juvenile victimizations, how to think about risk and impact, and how victimization patterns change over the course of development. The book also provides a new model of society's response to child victimization - what Finkelhor calls the Juvenile Victim Justice System - and a fresh way of thinking about barriers that victims and their families encounter when seeking help."--Book jacket.

"The 2006 Families and Children Study (FACS) is the eighth in a series of annual surveys to investigate the circumstances of British families with dependent children. The study began in 1999 with a survey of all lone parent families and low/moderate-income couples. In 2001 the third annual study was enlarged to be representative of all families with dependent children. This report presents statistics based on a representative snapshot of the circumstances of all families with dependent children in 2006. The report is divided into two parts. Chapters 2 to 10 look at a distinct feature of family life. Some of the chapters focus on the circumstances of the family unit - such as housing, income and material well being - some on the circumstances of the adults in the family (the 'mother figure' mainly but also her partner if relevant) - such as work and health. Chapters 11 to 16 look at a distinct feature of children's lives - such as health and schooling, childcare, child maintenance and some on the circumstances of the children in the family."--P. 7.

The issue of cyberbullying has been reported on widely in the press with extreme cases generally presented as the norm. In this article, the interactions of Australian primary children aged 11 to 12 years are presented to illustrate some bullying practices that young people engage in. The findings suggest that while cyberbullying occurs, it is generally not extreme in nature. Some differences in cyberbullying between girls and boys were found and examined. The article concludes with several recommendations to help minimise and manage cyberbullying. (Journal abstract)

Bullying is widely regarded as a destructive form of aggression with harmful physical, social and emotional outcomes for all involved (bullies, victims and bystanders), and particular risks for children with special needs. Research confirms its widespread nature where it is most likely in groups from which the victim cannot escape, such as in schools. This article briefly outlines the nature of bullying and associated developmental trends, and assesses the extent of bullying among young children. It also discusses the role of parents in recognising and reducing bullying, what educators can do to prevent it, and the positive effects of parents and carers working together. (Journal abstract, edited)

Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of health and social development in the states of Washington, United States, and Victoria, Australia, this study examined the relation between pubertal stage and the onset and course of depressive symptoms. Approximately 5,750 students aged 10 to 15 years at the first wave of the studies were assessed for depressive symptoms with the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. A self-reported version of the Pubertal Development Scale was used to assess pubertal status. The results showed advancing pubertal stage carried higher risks for depressive symptoms in female subjects in all three study waves. Report of poor emotional control in the preceding 12 months carried a twofold higher risk for incident depressive symptoms. High family conflict and severity of bullying also predicted persistence of depressive symptoms.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young people endure discrimination and prejudice, which is associated with their greater rates of homelessness, early school drop-out, social isolation, emotional distress, suicide and self harm. This report presents the results of the Open Doors 2008 survey, which examined the health and housing statuses of Queensland's LGB young people. The survey explored levels of discrimination, harassment, bullying, abuse and social alienation at school, home, and in the community. The report considers rates of self harm, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and substance use. It discusses the different forms of bullying and harassment, especially at school, where it is perpetrated by students, teachers, administrators and parents. It also explores the level of sexual abuse experienced and rates of diagnosed mental health problems among these young people. The report argues that sexual health education at school is inadequate, and that Queensland's communities, families, services and schools should become more accepting and supportive of young LGB people.

Preschool age children are often thought of as too young to be able to engage in bullying behaviours. However, when it does occur, there are ramifications not only for the child but also for parents and siblings. This paper explores this issue by reporting on an exploratory study involving interviews with four parents whose child had experienced bullying in a Victorian kindergarten. Parents reported a range of responses, including anger, guilt for not protecting their child, and powerlessness in the face of denial from kindergarten staff that their child had been bullied. Being unable to access information about bullying among preschool children which might validate their experiences, reinforced the sense of isolation these parents experienced. Further research which explores the needs of family members of children bullied in the kindergarten (prior to school) setting is needed. (Journal abstract)

Youth 2000 provides current national data on the health and well being of New Zealand's youth. Using self reported, anonymous data from Years 9-13 students in 114 secondary schools throughout New Zealand that were collected as part of Youth 2000, this study investigated New Zealand students' experiences of violence. The results are grouped into the following categories: witnessing violence at home; feeling safe at school and bullying; being deliberately physically hurt by others; unwanted sexual contact; help seeking; being in fights and hurting others; how often violence co occurs; and violence and health and wellbeing.

Many parents are concerned about how to help their children deal with violence, and how to prevent their children from resorting to aggression or being involved in violence. This tip sheet covers ways of disciplining a child effectively, how to stop sibling aggression, how to respond to wrestling and tumbling, angry fights, aggressive and dangerous behaviour in children, children protecting themselves, bullying, teaching children about conflict resolution, how to deal with antisocial behaviour, how to deal with bullying and how to resolve conflict effectively. It is relevant to a range of ages and developmental stages up to early adolescence.

Bullying that can occur among teenagers through email, chat rooms, mobile phones, text messages, mobile phone cameras and websites is known as cyber bullying. Limited research exists on this topic. This fact sheet outlines the rise of, causes of, and response to cyber bullying, and ways of preventing cyber bullying.

"The WA Health & Wellbeing Surveillance System (HWSS) began in March 2002 and is a continuous data collection system, which was developed to monitor the health and wellbeing of Western Australians. This report presents the HWSS information collected about 1,184 children aged 5 years and under from July 2006 to July 2007."--Publisher website.

"The Government wants to make this country the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up. The Children?s Plan sets out how the Department for Children, Schools and Families is going to achieve that ? by putting the needs of families, children and young people at the centre of everything we do."--Department website.

This report presents the results of a survey on homophobic bullying in schools. 1145 gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers, attending public, private, and faith high schools in Great Britain, were surveyed on their experiences of bullying. The survey found high levels of bullying - 65% of the students experienced bullying, causing half of those students to skip school at some point. The survey looked at the incidence, form, and perpetrators of the bullying; the use of homophobic and insensitive language in the school; school policies and teacher responses; safety; and the effect of the bullying on school attendance and school work. The report also discusses what policies and practices made a positive impact, and presents 5 recommendations for schools.

"The Children in North America Project aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada, Mexico, and the United States."--P. [3]

This study investigated risk factors for violence in adolescents, drawing upon research with a sample seventh and ninth grade adolescents, classified into subtypes of nonoffenders, physically violent, relationally aggressive, and both violent and aggressive. There were two goals of this study. First, to document, using a representative sample, the percentage of youth who engage in physical violence and/or relational aggression. Second, assess the extent to which the two behaviours share underlying risk factors to arrive at a better understanding of the aetiology of each behaviour. Relational aggression, or social aggression, is considered to be a subtype of bullying and is more covert that physical violence. Factors that predict the onset and continuation of violence in youth include neighbourhood disadvantage and extreme poverty, family adversity, an individual's involvement with delinquent peers and gangs, and personality dimensions such as hyperactivity, sensation seeking, and concentration problems. If relational aggression and physical violence share underlying risk processes, as it appears they may, benefits in the form of reductions in both behaviours, should come from programs that target one or the other behaviour. Note, data was only taken from the Washington State cohort of the study, as data from Victoria, Australia, was not fully available at time of analysis.