BULLY VICTIM PROBLEMS IN SCHOOL - KNOWLEDGE-BASE AND AN EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION PROGRAM/

Bully/victim problems among school children are a matter of considerab le concern in Scandanavia and, more recently, in a number of other cou ntries as well. Estimates based on the author's large-scale surveys in dicate that some 9% of the students in Grades I through 9 are fairly r egular victims of bullying and that 6-7% engage in bullying others wit h some regularity. It is argued that it is a fundamental democratic ri ght for a child to be spared the oppression and repeated humiliation i mplied in bullying. The author has developed a school based interventi on program against bullying, the effects of which were evaluated in 42 schools over a period of two years. Analyses indicate that the freque ncy of bully/victim problems decreased by 50-70%. In addition, the pre valence of antisocial behaviours in general, such as vandalism, theft, drunkenness and truancy showed a substantial drop. The main content o f the core program, as well as its key principles, are presented. The over-riding goal of the program can be described as a ''restructuring of the social environment''. The program emphasizes behaviours and att itudes characterized by a combination of positive involvement from tea chers and parents, firm limits to unacceptable behaviour (''we don't a ccept bullying in our class/school''), and consistent use of non-hosti le, non-corporal sanctions on rule violations. Explanations of the pos itive results include changes in the opportunity and reward structures for bullying behaviour.