TPC-Journal-V5-Issue4

The Professional Counselor /Volume 5, Issue 4 488 The Role of the Bystander Researchers have identified four types of bystander roles: (a) “assistants” who actively and directly help the bully victimize a target, (b) “reinforcers” who laugh at or simply witness the situation, (c) “outsiders” who do not take sides and often disengage or walk away from the group in order to dismiss the situation, and (d) “defenders” who intervene and console the target of bullying (Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Österman, & Kaukiainen, 1996, p. 15). Researchers have found that when bystanders reinforce the bully, bullying behavior increases (Salmivalli, Voeten, & Poskiparta, 2011). In contrast, when bystanders intervene, they are able to stop bullying behavior within 10–12 seconds 57% of the time (Hawkins, Pepler, & Craig, 2001). Similarly, within a classroom setting, when bystanders defend the target, bullying behavior decreases (Salmivalli et al., 2011). Because research findings indicate that when bystanders intervene they are effective at stopping bullying behaviors, focusing on bystander behavior is an important aspect of school-based interventions and educational programs. Comprehensive, School-Wide Bystander Intervention Programs Because bullying occurs within the context of peer-based interactions (Hawkins et al., 2001) and most students are bystanders at some point in time (Rivers et al., 2009), bystander interventions are an important component of school-wide intervention programs (Polanin, Espelage, & Pigott, 2012). The purpose of bystander interventions is to work with students to teach them to intervene when they observe a bullying situation (Polanin et al., 2012). Recent meta-analyses and reviews of the intervention literature support the effectiveness of comprehensive, school-wide bullying intervention programs that include bystander interventions (Bradshaw, 2015; Polanin et al., 2012). For example, KiVa, a Finnish acronym for Kiusaamista Vastaan, “against bullying” (Kärnä et al., 2011), is a comprehensive, school-wide program focused on bystander intervention (Salmivalli & Poskiparta, 2012). There are two key components to KiVa: universal actions and indicated actions. Universal actions include training all students within the classroom context about bullying and how to positively impact it through a variety of activities such as discussions, group discussions, role-plays, short films about bullying, and online games and instruction. Indicated actions involve engaging school personnel and students in intervening when an incident of bullying occurs. The intervention consists of several initial staff and teacher meetings, followed by a staff meeting with the bully, a staff meeting with the target, and selecting key students to meet with the target to provide support. Program implementation requires ten 90-minute classroom lessons for students, a two-day training for school personnel, the formation of an implementation team that works with classroom teachers to address indication actions, educating parents and completing annual evaluations. Consequently, KiVa was associated with significant reductions in bullying and victimization among students (Garandeau, Poskiparta, & Salmivalli, 2014). In a recent study evaluating mechanisms of change, improving bystander behavior in bullying situations was a significant mediator in counteracting bullying (Saarento, Boulton, & Salmivalli, 2015). Reducing students’ tendency to reinforce the bully appears to be an effective strategy. The program, however, can be difficult for many schools to implement. First, implementation requires a licensed partner who is an educational expert and can make a long-term commitment to program implementation (KiVa Anti-Bullying Program, 2014). Additionally, the program requires 900 minutes of teacher-delivered instruction in the classroom. Bully-Proofing (Garrity, Jens, Porter, Sager & Short-Camilli, 2004a, 2004b, 2004c) is another example of a comprehensive, school-wide program that involves training administrators, staff, teachers, bystanders and parents. Bully-Proofing includes (1) increasing awareness of bullying, (2) working with targets to increase protective behaviors and skills, (3) working with students

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