Tailor anti-bullying programs to cultural differences in how bullying manifests¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 quant-synthesis), q4 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The authors recommend that anti-bullying programs be adapted to cultural differences in bullying behaviors. Because research shows bullying manifests differently across cultures — for example, ijime in Japan involves group exclusion, while Western bullying comprises a wider range of physical, verbal, and relational aggression — "an anti-bullying program that is designed to reduce these behaviors should reflect these differences." The non-significant Malaysian OBPP evaluation illustrates the risk of importing a program without cultural tailoring.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Program implementers must understand local manifestations of bullying behaviors before selecting or translating a program

Constraints¶

• The article notes standardized international surveys may be insufficient at detecting different cultural manifestations of bullying, complicating cross-cultural transfer

Target Learners¶

• School children and adolescents across different countries and cultures

Target Learning Goals¶

• Reducing bullying perpetration and victimization in culturally congruent ways

Claims¶

• Program effectiveness varies by country: Greece led for perpetration, Italy for victimization [+M]
• Regional differences in program effectiveness: North America led for perpetration, Scandinavia for victimization, with no clear overall pattern [+M]
• Effectiveness of anti-bullying programs varies significantly across evaluations (heterogeneity) [+M]
• The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program produced the largest effect sizes for bullying perpetration, with effectiveness varying between Norway and USA evaluations [+M]

Related Strategies¶

• Mount a new program of research on anti-bullying program effectiveness building on meta-analytic findings
• Develop customized anti-bullying intervention strategies according to the neurocognitive profile of students in each school

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Hannah Gaffney, David P. Farrington, & Maria M. Ttofi. (2019). Examining the Effectiveness of School-Bullying Intervention Programs Globally: a Meta-analysis. International Journal of Bullying Prevention. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-019-0007-4