Treating bullying as everyone's problem can reduce bullying by up to 13%, finds new research.
The largest trial of its kind in the UK has shown how a low-cost, structured, anti-bullying programme can improve social dynamics in primary schools and reduce victimisation.
The Kiusaamista Vastaan, or 'KiVa', anti-bullying programme is a Finnish model that focuses on the behaviour of all children and emphasises the role that bystanders can play. The model highlights that children who are present, but not directly involved in bullying incidents – have a major role to play in defending the victim, making bullying less socially acceptable, and reducing the motivation of bullies.
In a year-long trial, led by Bangor University and managed by the Cardiff University Centre for Trials Research, the KiVa programme was implemented in over 100 primary schools in England and Wales and involved over 11,000 students.
The researchers found that the KiVa programme significantly reduced incidents of bullying, reducing the likelihood of children reporting bullying by 13, compared to schools using standard procedures.
The schools reported that their children were more empathetic towards victims and that children's problems with their peers were reduced. The programme was equally effective across socio-economically diverse schools and from small rural schools to large, urban ones.
Bullying in childhood is one of the biggest risk factors for later mental health problems in childhood, adolescence and beyond. Unfortunately, it is widespread in UK schools; and while all schools are required to have a bullying policy, it's rarely evidence-based. The KiVa 'whole school' approach has had really significant effects on bullying in other countries because it focuses on everyone's behaviour, and removes the social rewards usually gained by the perpetrators.
Economic analyses by public health economists from Bangor University found that KiVa is also a low-cost intervention, which is particularly important given budget restrictions in schools.
This trial provides a low-cost programme that reduces bullying - by reducing bullying, we can remove barriers to learning and improve the mental health of pupils.
The research is the largest randomised controlled trial to date of the KiVa programme outside Finland, involving 118 schools across England and Wales.
Lucy Bowes, Professor of Psychopathology at the University of Oxford, said: "Being bullied may have devastating consequences for children and young people, including increasing the risk of mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, as well as poor school outcomes. This means that any improvement is worthwhile and even small percentage changes can have a substantial impact for those individual children and will cumulatively improve the situation in the school over time.
"The Finnish data show year-on-year improvements over seven years for schools that continue with the programme. Addressing bullying in schools is a major public health concern, and evaluating anti-bullying programmes used in our schools is vital."
The research, The effects and costs of an anti-bullying programme (KiVa) in UK primary schools: a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial was published in Psychological Medicine. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The project was led by Bangor University working with the Universities of Exeter, Oxford, Warwick, and Birmingham. The trial was managed by the Centre for Trials Research at Cardiff University.
