Interventions to Reduce Bullying and Cyberbullying

Abstract

Over recent decades, bullying, and the more recent version of cyberbullying, have come to be recognized as important social and public health issues, generating an increasing volume of publications. It has been understood as a global, international issue, as evidenced in the UNESCO 2017 report on School Violence and Bullying: School Status Report. However, bullying is not only a school phenomenon. It can occur in many contexts such as families, residential homes, colleges, the workplace, prisons, and the armed forces. Wherever it occurs, it can have harmful and pernicious effects, for all involved including bystanders. For the victims especially, outcomes can include loss of self-esteem, depression, health problems, and reduced academic or work performance. Perpetrators, if unchallenged, can learn that this kind of abusive behavior can be carried out with impunity and continue on a pathway of antisocial behavior.