Students often have differing perceptions of their school's climate. Although these subjective perceptions can be meaningful outcome predictors, discrepancies create challenges for those seeking to globally characterize or intervene to improve the climate of a school. Trained, outside observers can provide insights on perceptible and ostensibly…

Bullying bystanders' reactions are important for either stopping or perpetuating bullying behaviors. Given school-based bullying programs' focus on bystanders, understanding the associations between school-level factors and individual bystander responses can improve intervention efficacy. Data from 64,670 adolescents were used to examine bullying…

The response patterns of youth who witness bullying have potential to influence future occurrence and persistence of bullying behaviors. Prevention efforts have included an increased focus on bystander interventions; however, the majority of adolescents rarely intervene in bullying situations. When they do, they often display of mixed pattern of…

Latent class analysis was used to examine whether patterns of bystander responses varied as a function of both student- and school-level characteristics. Data from 18,863 high school students from 58 schools who "ever witnessed bullying" were used to identify five latent classes of bystander behavior. Three of the classes identified…

Research, theory, and practice suggest an important role for parents in supporting their children when exposed to violence and helping them cope with victimization experiences. Despite this little is known about how parents respond to bullying and the factors that influence their response. Using data from 1,117 parents who reported that their…

In this commentary, Cornell and Bradshaw report decades of research in school psychology have brought attention to the culture of peer bullying and harassment that was a largely neglected problem in most schools. At the same time, research on the school environment has brought recognition to the importance of a safe and supportive school climate.…

Background: The school environment is an important context for understanding risk factors for teen dating violence. This study seeks to add to the growing literature base linking adolescent experiences with bullying and involvement with teen dating violence. Methods: Data were collected from 27,074 adolescents at 58 high schools via a Web-based…

Although the scientific community continues to struggle with the most accurate and efficient method for assessing the prevalence of bullying, the article by Bandyopadhyay, Cornell, and Konald (2009) highlights a critical but often overlooked aspect of assessment--the broader culture and climate of bullying. Through two large-scale studies, the…

Although bullying continues to be a growing public health concern in schools across the United States, there are considerable gaps in the American understanding of effective prevention approaches for addressing this seemingly intractable issue. This article applies a public health approach to addressing bullying through the multitiered Positive…

The present longitudinal study used a social-ecological framework to explore the extent to which peer victimization and aggression were associated with changes in concentration problems and emotion regulation among elementary students in general versus special education, while accounting for student demographics and school contextual factors. Data…

Although many bullying prevention programs aim to involve multiple partners, few studies have examined perceptual differences regarding peer victimization and the broader bullying climate among students, staff, and parents. The present study utilized multilevel data from 11,674 students, 960 parents, and 1,027 staff at 44 schools to examine the…

Children with developmental disabilities are at an increased risk for involvement in bullying, and children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may be at particular risk because of challenges with social skills and difficulty maintaining friendships, yet there has been little empirical research on involvement in bullying among children with ASD.…

Bullying poses a threat to children's social-emotional functioning and their perceptions of school climate, yet few studies have examined different types of social-emotional and behavior problems presented by children involved in bullying, as a bully, victim, or bully/victim across multiple school levels. The current study used data from 24,345…

This article examines the link between involvement in bullying, as either a bully, victim, or bully/victim, and attitudes toward violence and perceptions of safety among 16,012 middle and high school students. Analyses indicated that 37.6% were frequently involved in bullying. Bully/victims were the most likely to report feeling unsafe and…

Although bullying and other forms of peer victimization at school are a growing concern, there has been little research examining the potential differences between student and staff perceptions of the frequency of bullying, most common location and forms of bullying, severity of the problem, social norms related to bullying, and responses to…