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. 2023 Nov;93(11):1036-1044.
doi: 10.1111/josh.13349. Epub 2023 Jun 19.

Anti-Bullying Interventions With an Emphasis on Bystanders: A Scoping Review

Luiza Luana de Araújo Lira Bezerra  1 , Dayse Lorrane Gonçalves Alves  2 , Bruna Rodrigues Nunes  3 , Ana Carina Stelko-Pereira  2 , Raquel Sampaio Florêncio  4 , Ilvana Lima Verde Gomes  5
Affiliations

Anti-Bullying Interventions With an Emphasis on Bystanders: A Scoping Review

Luiza Luana de Araújo Lira Bezerra et al. J Sch Health. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Bystanders' role in bullying situations is important, and may exacerbate or minimize the problem. Thus, this article aims to identify the characteristics of anti-bullying programs with an emphasis on bystanders.

Methods: This is a scoping review. We included studies that addressed interventions with an emphasis on bystanders, carried out with school children and adolescents, aimed at reducing bullying/cyberbullying and/or increasing defending behavior. Fifteen portals/databases were searched. The selection and extraction processes were carried out through the blind review strategy. The synthesis took place descriptively.

Results: We found 12 interventions. The most investigated were KiVa (n = 9), STAC (n = 3), and Curriculum-Based Anti-Bullying (n = 2).

Conclusions: There are few anti-bullying programs with an emphasis on bystanders, and the majority are universal programs with strategies applied by teachers, giving little attention to parents. Moreover, most of these programs lack a broader mix of anti-bullying strategies. Therefore, we suggest developing anti-bullying programs with multiple components that contain universal, selective, and indicated strategies.

Keywords: adolescents; bullying; bystanders; child; cyberbullying; psychosocial intervention.

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References

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