Are Anti-Bullying 
Programs Effective?

Have well-intentioned anti-bullying programs actually helped improve the situation?


It seems everywhere you look there is a new campaign to combat the growing bullying epidemic in North America. From school board policies to celebrity-helmed campaigns such as the popular It Gets Better YouTube video series, there’s no arguing that bullying is a prominent issue in high-school culture. But after years of bullying being in the forefront of teen issues, have these well-intentioned programs actually helped improve the situation?


In 2004, Canadian psychologist J. David Smith, PhD, of the University of Ottawa, asked that very question and conducted a report entitled, The Effectiveness of Whole-School Anti-Bullying Programs. Youthink recently caught up with Smith to discuss his findings and to delve deeper into the current state of the issue of bullying.


With bullying horror stories on the rise in past years, there’s no mystery over the increase in anti-bullying campaigns. Most recently, Ottawa teen Jamie Hubley committed suicide as a result of being bullied for his sexual orientation. With Hubley’s death and many similar tragedies popping up way too often in the news these days, bullying is obviously an ongoing issue that affects Canadian teens in a potentially tragic way.


“The research says that about 20 per cent of kids are moderately involved in bullying (as victims or bullies) to the point that it is going to bother them in some way,” confirms Smith. “About seven to eight per cent of kids are heavily involved in bullying to the point that it will have serious negative impact on them and in many cases the experiences will continue to affect them when they become adults.”


So what sort of negative impact can bullying have on teens? According to Smith, there are a number of consequences – from minor to serious.


“It can include slight nervousness about going to school in the morning (which may pass in a few minutes), all the way to suicide,” explains Smith. “In between those distant extremes, there is anxiety, depression, avoiding or changing schools, lower academic marks and difficulty in friendships. Note that many of these consequences also apply to kids doing the bullying as well as kids who witness it. So it is not just the victims who are suffering. It affects nearly all of the kids who have some connection to the bullying situation.”


So, knowing the consequences, it’s important that anti-bullying programs be effective. And while there is surely no shortage of initiatives out there, one can’t help but wonder if they truly are making a lasting positive impact. In the end, Smith’s report concluded that the small number of programs he looked at had very little positive effect; however, it wasn’t all bad news.


“In some cases (but not all), a short-term increase in bullying reported by youth following implementation of program could be a positive outcome, because after the program students are able to recognize bullying and start speaking up – to call ‘a spade a spade,’ so to speak,” says Smith.


So if these anti-bullying programs – though admirable in their intentions – aren’t resulting in the desired effects, what does Smith see as the problem?


“Probably the biggest problem is that these programs are not implemented as completely and broadly as they should be in the schools. Sometimes, they take second (or third) place to other serious matters schools are trying to deal with: improving reading and math, preventing youth from dropping out of school and many other serious issues. Or sometimes schools invest in something that is a ‘one-shot deal’ – someone (e.g. a celebrity) comes by, gives a great presentation, but then little happens in the school after the presentation is over.”


Seems simple enough – establish a program that provides support and aids prevention that is prevalent within schools and reaches a wide variety of students. Though apparently, the notion is not quite simple enough. With most programs just not doing the job, a very common reason many teens are pushed to the brink of suicide is precisely because they feel there isn’t sufficient support made available to them when they need it the most. So what would Smith consider an effective anti-bullying program?


“I think good bullying prevention programs do more than support those in need. I think the best kind of program reaches everybody in the school and helps to create an environment in which the majority of youth in the school simply don’t accept bullying and take some concrete steps to stop it when they see it. They themselves don’t bully, they tell their friends it’s not cool to bully and they reach out to classmates who they see or know are being bullied.”


Although the news may lead us to believe otherwise, Smith leaves us with some hope that we are moving ahead in our fight against bullying. In fact, just by talking about bullying, society has progressed from decades back. If the first step is admitting you have a problem, then the programs are doing the job.


“I don’t think [bullying] is worse today,” says Smith. “It is just that we recognize today that bullying is wrong and it hurts people, sometimes very badly. When I was in high school (in the early 1980s), we never talked about bullying. It’s like it didn’t exist. But it did. What is different today though is that e-communication (especially the Internet, cell phones) has given youth new tools to do the bullying with, and they can reach a larger audience with these tools than was the case when I was in high school.”


In the end, it’s all about prevention, and that can begin with even just one person deciding to take a stand against bullying. Or it could begin with empowerment, by reaching out to someone who has been bullied and encouraging him or her to stop the cycle of victimization by helping them speak up. After all, Smith says that the best approach to helping someone you recognize is being bullied in your school is to, “talk to the youth, tell them that they are not alone, ask what you can do to help, and ask the youth being bullied if they have told a responsible adult (like a parent, teacher or principal), and if not, encourage them to do so.”


Though anti-bullying programs have not yet made groundbreaking headway, it’s important to look at the progress that has been made. And while these programs and campaigns do need improvement if they stand a chance at stopping bullying in its tracks, they have helped numerous teens feel as if they not quite so alone, which in itself is quite an impressive feat. Remember, small steps do count when you’re looking at an issue as big as bullying.


If you are being bullied, or just simply want to join the movement to end bullying, do not hesitate to visit these support organizations for more information: kidshealth.org, bullying.org, kidshelpphone.ca, stopabully.ca or The Trevor Helpline: 1-800-850-8078 or thetrevorproject.org.