Bullying in American Schools A Social-Ecological Perspective on Prevention and Intervention

Researcher/clinician Susan Sgroi once said, "You can't diagnose something if you don't believe it exists." She was referring to the fact that five decades ago most professionals estimated the frequency of child sexual abuse on the order of one in a million, whereas now the figure commonly cited is on the order of one in ten. Did this phenomenon become fantastically more common over the last century? Most researchers/clinicians think not. Rather, the phenomenon in front of us was hidden from view because of our self-defensive incredulity. As the German poet Goethe articulated, "What is most difficult for you? That which you think is easiest, To sec what is before your eyes." I think in the phenomenon of bullying we face a comparable situation. Only recently have we begun to see its prevalence and its seriousness. Indeed, bullying has emerged as one of the major central negative forces at work in the lives of children and youth.

No one can deny that American children and youth have faced a series of challenges to their sense of safety and security in recent years. The events of September 11, 2001, were one such challenge. In the space of one day kids around the country were confronted with cataclysmic images of disaster that threatened their confidence in the ability of their society to protect them. But the image of planes crashing into the World Trade Towers was not the first such assault.

Two years earlier, America was aroused to a fever pitch of concern by the school massacre committed in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999. Indeed, surveys showed that media coverage of this story virtually outshadowed all others, and adults put what happened at Columbine at the top of their list of important stories for the entire year of 1999. But what are the lessons of Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, Columbine High School, and September 11th? How do these serious events speak to the importance of physical violence and emotional violence as an issue facing American teenagers? Columbine and other instances of serious school violence are part of the emotional life that adolescents now experience, sometimes on a daily basis.

Columbine changed how our society views school violence-or at least it should have. Columbine offered an opportunity to open our nation's eyes to the pain so many of our kids feel as they confront emotional violence at school. The fact is many eyes were closed until that day in April 1999. The principal of Columbine High School, Frank De Angeles, was asked two years later what he learned from what happened in his school that day. His response? "If someone had asked me on April 19, if it was possible that there were boys in my school so angry and troubled they were planning to kill us all, I would have said it was impossible. And then the next day it happened."

The school shooters acted in a terrible way and with a sense of outrage and even justification that many kids around America felt-and feel. These students believe that they have to endure a school dominated by emotional violence and that no one, specifically no adult, will do anything about it. In that belief they represent an extreme form of a common, shared experience. What is that common experience? It is the experience of bullying-as a perpetrator, a victim, or a bystander. Like sexual abuse, bullying is a core issue in the development and behavior of American kids. It is linked to the quality of their emotional lives and has far-reaching implications for their academic development, their relationships with adults and peers, and their sense of peace and well-being.

Here is what some of the students interviewed by my colleague Ellen deLara said about the shared, common phenomenon of bullying (as reported in our book And Words Can Hurt Forever : How to Protect Adolescents from Bullying, Harassment, and Emotional Violence (NY: The Free Press, 2002)).

Molly, age 16, is from a small, rural high school in the Northeast : "If you're bullied, that can really add up. And high school is such an environment to fit in and when you're bullied, you know, that hurts! But nobody could really stop that. No officials could really."

1. Ryan S. Adams, Arizona State University, Counseling Psychology, 1011 E. Lemon St., Tempe, AZ, 85281
2. Christi L. Bartolomucci, Emory University School of Medicine, 1440 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322
3. Kathy Berenson, New York State Psychiatric Institute-Unit 47, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10032.
4. Paulette Tarn Gary, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 114 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
5. Patricia Cohen, New York State Psychiatric Institute-Unit 47, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10032
6. Michelle Kilpatrick Demaray, Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115
7. Donna Denning, Arizona State University, Department of Family and Human Development PO Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502
8. Beth Doll, Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 36 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
9. Shannon Dowd, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 239 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
10. Renae D. Duncan, Department of Psychology, Wells 212, Murray State University, Murray, KY 42071
11. Dorothy L. Espelage, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Department of Educational Psychology, 226 Education Bldg., 1310 S. 6th St., Champaign, IL, 61820-6990
12. Richard A. Fabes, Arizona State University, Department of Family and Human Development PO Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502
13. James Garbarino, Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of Human Development, Co-Director of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University, 427 E. Seneca Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
14. Amy B. Goldstein, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dept. of Pediatric Psychology, 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104
15. Amie E. Grills, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Child Study Center, 3100 Prices Fork Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060
16. Laura D. Hanish, Arizona State University, Department of Family and Human Development, PO Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502
17. Kisha M. Haye, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 114 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
18. Melissa K. Holt, Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire 126 Horton Social Science Center, Durham, NH 03824
17. Arthur M. Home, Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, 402 Aderhold Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, G A 30602
18. Jeffrey G. Johnson, New York State Psychiatric Institute-Unit 47, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10032
19. Stephanie Kasen, New York State Psychiatric Institute-Unit 47, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10032
20. Melissa A. Keyes, K12 Associates, LLC, 6314 Odana Road, Madison, WI 53719
21. Becky Kochenderfer-Ladd, Psychology in Education, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-0611
22. Stephen S. Left', The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Dept. of Pediatric Psychology, 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104
23. Susan P. Limber, Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, 158 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC 29634
24. Jeffrey D. Long, Department of Educational Psychology, Burton Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
25. Christine Kerres Malecki, Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, 1L 60115
26. Carol Lynn Martin, Arizona State University, Department of Family and Human Development, PO Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502
27. Sarah Mebane, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Department of Educational Psychology, 306 W. Griggs St. Apt. 209, Urbana, IL 61801
28. Dawn Newman-Carlson, Carlson Health Promotion, P.A., 100 SW 75th Street, Suite #103, Gainesville, FL 32607-5779
29. Pamela Orpinas, Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, 319 Ramsey Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602
30. Anthony D. Pellegrini, Dept. of Ed Psych, Burton Hall, Univ of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
31. Thomas J. Power, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia-CSH-116, 3405 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104
32. Philip C, Rodkin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Educational Psychology, 226 Education Building, MC-708, 1310 S. 6th. St., Champaign, Illinois 61820-6990
33. Barri Rosenbluth, Safe Place : Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Survival Center, P.O. Box 19454, Austin, TX 78760
34. Ellen Sanchez, Safe place, P.O. Box 19454, Austin, TX, 78760
35. Susan M. Sheridan, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 239 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
36. Erin Siemers, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 114 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
37. Samuel Song, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 114 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
38. Susan M. Swearer, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 40 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
39. Linda A. Valle, CDC, Division of Violence Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway Mailstop K-60, Atlanta, GA 30341
40. Emily D. Warnes, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Department of Educational Psychology, 239 Teachers College Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0345
41. Daniel J. Whitaker, CDC, Division of Violence Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop K-60, Atlanta, GA 30341

Dorothy L. Espelage is Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She earned her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Indiana University in 1997. She has conducted research on bullying for the last seven years. As a result, she presents regularly at national conferences and is author of over 30 professional publications. She is on the editorial board for Journal of Counseling and Development. She has presented hundreds of workshops and in-service training seminars for teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers across the U.S. Her research focuses on translating empirical findings into prevention and intervention programming. Dr. Espelage has appeared on many television news and talk shows, including The Today Show, CNN, CBS Evening News, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, and has been quoted in the national print press, including Time Magazine, USA Today, and People magazine.

Susan M. Swearer is Assistant Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin in 1997. She has conducted research on the relationship between depression and anxiety and externalizing problems (with a specific emphasis on bullying) in children and adolescents for the past decade. Dr. Swearer regularly presents at national conferences and conducts workshops on bullying and victimization in school-aged youth. She writes regularly on the topic of bullying and is on the editorial review boards for Education and Treatment of Children, School Psychology Quarterly, and School Psychology Review. Her research project on bullying, "Target bullying : Ecologically-based prevention and intervention for schools," teaches school personnel how to collect ecologically valid data on bullying and use those data to guide prevention and intervention efforts.

“Bullying constitutes a scourge across our nation, not the least of which occurs in schoolrooms throughout America. No longer completely denied (thanks to this excellent volume), its systematic impact on millions of children-the growing reality that it consists of a 'slippery slope' from psychologically hurtful language to daily physical violence-still eludes both public awareness and many scholars' requisite understanding.

"Bullying in American Schools is a beautifully edited volume which aims to remediate these scotomas in our knowledge base. Espelage and Swearer have combined the groundbreaking results of their own theoretical and research efforts with leading scholars and practitioners in the field to create THE state-of-the-art volume on understanding bullying with the depth and breadth of knowledge truly necessary to effect significant change.

"For the researcher in the field of bullying or childhood violence, the adults and educators vouchsafed with our children's well-being, and the policy makers who decide if bullying will be addressed and which program may be used to end this national curse, Bullying in American Schools is a must read! It is not only the definitive edited volume, with a stellar roster of authors on bullying in America and wide ranging in its systems approach to cause, prevention, and intervention. It is our best hope to save the children whom we love from psychic trauma and potential physical harm threatening their daily lives." - William S. Pollack, Ph.D. Author : Real Boys, Real Boys' Voices, Real Boys Workbook Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School