Preventing and Intervening with Bullying in Schools: A Framework for Evidence-Based Practice

Bullying is a pervasive problem that impacts children and youth in schools involved as perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. This paper synthesizes findings from the empirical literature, including meta-analyses, to examine the evidence for bullying prevention and intervention approaches with attention to developmental levels (preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school). Approaches and their evidence are described using a multi-tiered framework of universal prevention and more targeted and indicated prevention for the roles in bullying (perpetrators, victims, bystanders). The role of school mental health providers in comprehensive bullying prevention and intervention efforts is explicated. Challenges in the field and future directions for research, including the need for more methodologically rigorous studies assessing fidelity and using appropriate measurement, attending to the role of technology in bullying, and evaluating targeted and indicated interventions with bullying perpetrators and victims, are provided.