Bullying Prevention

Programs that attempt to reduce the incidence of bullying, a form of violence among children, on school playgrounds, in neighborhoods and in homes, through a variety of interventions which may include use of an anonymous questionnaire to assess the nature and prevalence of the problem, development and announcement of an intervention program, open discussions of bullying at school and in other venues, increased supervision of children in areas that are "hotspots" for bullying, arrangements for reporting bullying incidents, immediate intervention when bullying incidents occur, development of protective strategies for targets, formation of support groups for victims of bullies, discussions with parents of involved students, and engagement of community members in support of the program. Most bullying prevention programs are school based and target students in elementary, middle and junior high schools. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or psychological; and involves intentional, repeated hurtful acts, words and other behavior such as name-calling, threatening or shunning committed by one or more children against another child.