BULLYING VICTIMIZATION
IN DELAWARE
DE-PBS Annual Celebration
April 29, 2014
INFORMATION TO BE COVERED
2013 Delaware School Climate Survey - Student results
related to bullying
 Importance of other school climate factors in relation to
bullying
 Bullying victimization of students with disabilities
 Implications for bullying prevention

DELAWARE SCHOOL CLIMATE
SURVEY ITEMS
Subscales of 2013 Delaware School Climate Surveys
Student Survey
Teacher/Staff Survey
Home Survey
Part I : School Climate
Teacher-Student Relations
Teacher-Student Relations
Teacher-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Student-Student Relations
Respect for Diversity
Respect for Diversity
Respect for Diversity
Clarity of Expectations
Clarity of Expectations
Clarity of Expectations
Fairness of Rules
Fairness of Rules
Fairness of Rules
School Safety
School Safety
School Safety
Student Engagement School- Student Engagement Schoolwide
wide
Bullying School-wide
Bullying School-wide
Teacher-Home Communications
Teacher-Home Communications
Staff Relations
Total School Climate
Total School Climate
Total School Climate
Parent Satisfaction
4
BULLYING SCHOOL-WIDE
 Items
“Students threaten and bully others in this school”
 “Students worry about others bullying them in this school”
 “In this school, bullying is a problem”
 “Students bully one another in this school”

 Scores
range from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4
(Strongly Agree)
 Note:
A high score for this subscale is unfavorable
PART II: Techniques
Student Survey
Teacher/Staff Survey
Positive Behavior
Techniques
Positive Behavior
Techniques
Punitive Techniques
Punitive Techniques
Social Emotional
Learning Techniques
Social Emotional
Learning Techniques
Home Survey
6
Part III: Bullying & IV: Engagement (Individual Level)
Student Survey
Bullying
Victimization1
Student
Engagement
1 Grades
Teacher/Staff
Survey
Home Survey
Physical Bullying
Physical Bullying
Verbal Bullying
Verbal Bullying
Social/Relational
Bullying
Cyberbullying2
Social/Relational
Bullying
Cognitive & Behavioral
Cognitive & Behavioral
Emotional
Emotional
6-12 only for the printed version. Optional for grades 4-5 with computer version.
2 Grades 6-12 only.
BULLYING VICTIMIZATION ITEM EXAMPLES
• Verbal Bullying
• “A student said mean things to me.”
• Physical Bullying
• “I was pushed or shoved on purpose.”
• Social/Relational Bullying
• “A student told/got others to not like me.”
• Cyberbullying
• “A student sent me a mean or hurtful message about me using
email, text messaging, instant messaging, or similar electronic
messaging.”
• Scores range from 1 (Never) to 6 (Everyday)
2013 Survey Sample
Elementary
Middle
High
Alternative
Special
Early
Childhood
Other
Student Survey
Teacher Survey
Home Survey
Schools
89
89
83
Respondents
18498
3391
15795
Schools
28
29
26
Respondents
10971
1334
3522
Schools
18
18
13
Respondents
7245
1084
1177
Schools
4
4
3
Respondents
189
65
59
Schools
4
8
8
Respondents
244
340
298
Schools
0
5
5
Respondents
0
116
361
Schools
10
9
7
Respondents
3116
301
1061
9
SURVEY RESULTS
Total School Climate by Student Grade
Student perceptions tend to decrease,
especially from elementary to middle school
SCHOOL-WIDE BULLYING RESULTS
The following percentages agreed or strongly agreed that
bullying was a problem in their school:
Elementary
Students
Teachers
53.4%
16.8%
Middle
Students
Teachers
49.2%
34.1%
High
Students
Teachers
43.8%
32.3%
SCHOOL-WIDE BULLYING RESULTS – GRADES 3-5
The following percentages agreed or strongly agreed that
bullying was a problem in their school:
3rd Grade
Students
Teachers
60.3%
18.2%
4th Grade
Students
Teachers
53.2%
21.2%
5th Grade
Students
Teachers
45.5%
20.4%
SCHOOL-WIDE BULLYING RESULTS – GRADES 6-8
The following percentages agreed or strongly agreed that
bullying was a problem in their school:
6th Grade
Students
Teachers
48%
30.7%
7th Grade
Students
Teachers
51.9%
40.9%
8th Grade
Students
Teachers
45.6%
31.8%
SCHOOL-WIDE BULLYING RESULTS – GRADES 9-12
The following percentages agreed or strongly agreed that
bullying was a problem in their school:
9th Grade
Students
Teachers
46.4%
31.5%
10th Grade
Students
Teachers
43.9%
29.2%
11th Grade
Students
Teachers
44.6%
31.5%
12th Grade
Students
Teachers
39.9%
20.0%
BULLYING VICTIMIZATION RESULTS
Percentages indicate the number of students who reported
this occurring to them at least once a week:
Verbal Bullying
Item
Elementary
Middle
High
I was teased by someone saying
hurtful things to me
12.6%
14.0%
11.5%
A student said mean things to me
13.6%
14.3%
12.2%
I was called names I didn’t like
11.2%
12.5%
10.9%
Hurtful jokes were made up
about me
8.3%
9.2%
8.6%
BULLYING VICTIMIZATION RESULTS
Percentages indicate the number of students who reported
this occurring to them at least once a week:
Social/Relational Bullying
Item
Elementary
Middle
High
Students left me out of things to
make me feel badly
8.8%
7.6%
7.5%
A student told/got others to not like
me
7.9%
8.2%
8.3%
A student got others to say mean
things about me
6.7%
7.9%
8.0%
Students told another student not to
be friends with me because other
students didn’t like me
7.2%
7.5%
8.1%
BULLYING VICTIMIZATION RESULTS
Percentages indicate the number of students who reported
this occurring to them at least once a week:
Physical Bullying
Item
Elementary
Middle
High
I was pushed or shoved on purpose
7.4%
8.9%
8.2%
I was hit or kicked and it hurt
6.2%
5.9%
5.8%
A student threatened to harm me
6.0%
6.4%
6.6%
A student stole or broke something
of mine on purpose
5.3%
5.8%
5.9%
SCHOOL CLIMATE AND BULLYING
 Caution:
Correlation does not mean causation
 Direction
of influence is likely to be
bidirectional:

Bullying creates a negative climate, and a
positive school climate helps prevent bullying
Elementary School (School Level Results)
Verbal
Bullying
Physical
Bullying
Social
Bullying
Total School Climate
-.50**
-.42**
-.43**
Engagement: Cog. & Behav
-.33**
-.33**
-.30**
Engagement: Emotional
-.52**
-.43**
-.45**
Punitive Techniques
.62**
.55**
.56**
Positive Techniques
-.20
-.11
-.12
-.39**
-.31*
-.31*
SEL Techniques
N = 70, ** p ≤ .001; p ≤ .05
Gain Scores (2012-2013) Controlling for Grade Level
Verbal
Bullying
Physical
Bullying
Social
Bullying
Teacher-Student Relations
-23*
-.38**
-.36**
Student-Student Relations
-.29**
-.24*
-.28**
Respect for Diversity
-.25*
-.39**
-.41**
Engagement
-.15
-.26**
-.25*
Clarity of Expectations
-.01
-.16
-.15
Fairness of Rules
.03
-.15
-.10
Safety
-.04
-.17
-.18
N = 41; *p ≤ .05, **p ≤ .01
BULLYING AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Odds Ratio
Disability
Global
Bullying Item
Verbal
Items
Social Items
Physical
Items
Emotional Disturbance
6.96b
13.32c
3.44a
7.57c
Other Health Impaired
1.88c
1.45b
1.32
1.44a
Hearing Impaired
1.52
2.66a
2.72a
2.52a
Visually Impaired/Blind
2.32
3.70a
3.87a
.76
Autism Spectrum Disorder
1.49
1.32
2.53b
1.48
Mild Intellectual Disability
2.24
1.57
2.17
2.10
Moderate Intellectual Disability
2.24
.34
1.72
.58
Specific Learning Disability
1.32a
1.08
1.28
1.09
Speech/Language Impairment
1.15
1.14
1.0
1.10
Orthopedic Disability
.44
.56
2.95
2.16
a.05, b.01, c.001.
Note: Based on parents’ responses of once or twice per month or greater.
BULLYING AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Percentage of parents responding “once or twice a month” or more:
“My child was bullied in
this school” (General)
“A student said mean things
to my child” (Verbal)
41.7% of students with
Emotional Disturbance
50.0% of students with
Emotional Disturbance
6.6% of students with
Other Health Impairment
12.2% of students with Other
Health Impairment
5.9% of students with
Specific Learning Disability
27.3% of students with Visual
Impairment
COMPARED TO
5.2% of students without
disabilities
20.0% of students with Hearing
Impairment
COMPARED TO
10.2% of students
without disabilities
BULLYING AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Percentage of parents responding “once or twice a month” or more:
“Students left my child out of things
to make him/her feel badly”
(Social/Relational)
16.7% of students with
Emotional Disturbance
8.7% of students with
Hearing Impairment
27.3% of students with
Visual Impairment
14.5% of students with
Autism Spectrum Disorder
COMPARED TO
4.6% of students without disabilities
“My child was hit or kicked
and it hurt” (Physical)
9.1% of students with
Emotional Disturbance
4.2% of students with
Hearing Impairment
9.1% of students with
Visual Impairment
3.4% of students with
Autism Spectrum Disorder
COMPARED TO
2.3% of students
without disabilities
IMPLICATIONS
GENERAL IMPLICATIONS FOR BULLYING
PREVENTION
 Students
report less bullying in schools with a positive
school climate and where teachers emphasize the use
of techniques for developing strong teacher-student
relationships and students’ social and emotional skills
 Theory
and research show that responsiveness
(support) and demandingness (structure) are two
essential dimensions of school climate and bullying
prevention
 Thus,
Tier 1 prevention should focus on improving those
aspects of school climate
IMPLICATIONS FOR BULLYING PREVENTION
 Students
with disabilities are at greater risk for being
bullied, but especially those with ED, HI, VI, and OHI
 Additional
prevention efforts at Tiers 2 and 3 should
be considered for these populations, as well as others
who are at greatest risk for being bullied (or for
bullying others)
IMPLICATIONS FOR BULLYING PREVENTION
 SW-PBS
program fidelity is important

Differences between Delaware schools in school climate,
bullying and the extent to which they are implementing SWPBS

Prevention efforts should be guided by a comprehensive
needs assessment to determine the areas in which your
school should devote resources to train staff

Delaware Assessment of Strengths and Needs for PBS (DASNPBS)

DE-PBS Key Feature Evaluation
QUESTIONS?
George Bear: [email protected]
 Debby Boyer: [email protected]
 Sarah Hearn: [email protected]
 Lindsey Mantz: [email protected]

www.delawarepbs.org
Thank you!