The effectiveness of group interventions in reducing the level of bullying behaviors in middle school settings.

Abstract

Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior where one or more individuals seek to harm or disturb another who may be perceived as being unable to defend themselves(Smokowski & Kopasz,2005).Without intervention,bullying can have long-lasting effects including deceased social skills,low self-esteem,depression,and anxiety.To address this issue,state and federal governments are beginning to take an anti-bullying approach in the schools(Limber & Small,2003).Interventions to reduce bullying at the individual,group,and school level have been developed.The present study focuses on the effectiveness of group social skills interventions in reducing bullying and victimization in the middle school setting.The main objective was to determine if this was an effective method for reducing these behaviors within the middle school population.School officials referred students to social skills groups.Students were placed into groups by grade,and were assessed at pre-test and post-test.Students rated their level of social skills by completing the Social skills Rating System and their bullying behaviors by completing the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire.School officials were asked to complete the Social Skills Rating System to rate student's levels of social skills.While students did not report significant changes in their social skills,they did report a significant decrease in bullying behavior.Results revealed there were no statistically significant differences for gender or grade.In addition,student's reported social skills did not significantly increase following the intervention.