Citation

Gower AL, Cousin M, Borowsky IW. J. Sch. Health 2017; 87(3): 174-181.

Affiliation

Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 717 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, American School Health Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/josh.12480

PMID

28147459

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Although nearly all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, little research examines the effect of these policies on student bullying and health. Using a statewide sample, we investigated associations between the quality of school district anti-bullying policies and student bullying involvement and adjustment.

METHODS: School district anti-bullying policies (N = 208) were coded for their quality based on established criteria. District-level data were combined with student reports of bullying involvement, emotional distress, and school connectedness from a state surveillance survey of 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students (N = 93,437).

RESULTS: Results indicated that policy quality was positively related to bullying victimization. Furthermore, students reporting frequent perpetration/victimization who also attended districts with high-quality policies reported more emotional distress and less school connectedness compared with students attending districts with low quality policies. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of these associations was small.

CONCLUSIONS: Having a high-quality school district anti-bullying policy is not sufficient to reduce bullying and protect bullying-involved young people. Future studies examining policy implementation will inform best practices in bullying prevention.

© 2017, American School Health Association.

Language: en

Keywords

bullying; bullying policy; child and adolescent health; school connectedness; school policy