Amanda Nickerson, PhDAssociate Professor and Director

Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse PreventionUniversity at Buffalo

alberticenter@buffalo.edugse.buffalo.edu/alberticenter

Professional Staff Senate MeetingNovember 17, 2011

Alberti Center Slideshow

About the Alberti Center

Brief Overview of Bullying

Resources for Students

Our mission is to research, identify, and disseminate

resources to practitioners on the topics of bullying abuse

prevention and intervention.

Jean M. Alberti, Ph.D.

Benefactor

Amanda B. Nickerson, Ph.D.Director

Rebecca E. Ligman, M.S.Ed.Assistant to the Director

Michelle SerwackiGraduate Assistant

Heather CosgroveGraduate Assistant

Identification of high quality resources and links for website

Needs assessment• Resource availability and

utilization

Select presentations to educators, parents, and community organizations

Gender, empathy, group norms, and prosocial affiliations on bullying roles (middle school)

Bullying, anxiety, and self-care (middle school)

Group intervention for students at-risk for depression (middle and high school)

Evaluation of the PREPaRE School Crisis Prevention and Intervention Training Curriculum

Protective factors (focus on family) for bullying, victimization and sexual harassment

Assessment and ongoing monitoring of school climate and bullying/victimization (in conjunction with examination of strategies implemented)

Spring 2012 bullying prevention conference

Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Youth Depression: A Parent Perspective A presentation by John Halligan November 21, 2011 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Wesleyan Church of Hamburg www.frontier.wnyric.org/frontier/lib/frontier/Dignity_for_All.pdf

Parents: Learn More About Bullying & Prevention Skills to Help Your Children A UB Employee Assistance Program workshop led by Dr. Amanda Nickerson December 13, 2011 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 120 Clemens Hall, UB North Campus hr.buffalo.edu/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_use_op=view_page&PAGE_id=747

Intentional, usually repeated acts of verbal, physical, or written aggression by a peer (or group of peers) operating from a position of strength or power with the goal of hurting the victim physically or damaging status and/or social reputation

Olweus (1978); United States Department of Education (1998)

Physical bullying• punching, shoving, acts that hurt people

Verbal bullying• name calling, making offensive remarks

Indirect bullying• spreading rumors, excluding, ganging up

Cyber bullying• willful and repeated harm inflicted through the

use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices

Hinduja & Patchin (2009)

Teasing: Fun, good-natured, “give-and-take” between friends to get both parties to laugh

Bullying: Based on a power imbalance; intent to cause psychological or physical harm; usually repeated

Conflict: A struggle, dispute, or misunderstanding between two equal forces

STRUCTURE and SUPPORT• Clear, consistently enforced expectations

and policies for behavior, including prohibition of bullying and harassment, and effective classroom management – means of reporting

• Warmth, positive interest, adult involvement and supervision, and appreciation of differences

Brief assemblies or one-day awareness raising events

Zero-tolerance policies• May result in under-reporting bullying• Limited evidence in curbing bullying behavior

Peer mediation, peer-led conflict resolution• Many programs that use this approach actually

saw increase in victimization• Grouping students who bully together may

actually reinforce this behaviorDodge, Dishion, & Lansford, (2006); Farrington & Ttofi, (2009); Nansel et al., (2001)

Listen Empathize

• “That must have been very scary for you”

Thank student for telling Take is seriously Partner with student and

school to problem-solve Follow-up

Focus on behavior (not student as person) and why it is not OK

Apply logical, meaningful consequences

Increase supervision and monitoring

Work with student to develop plan for how to prevent this behavior in the future

Consider professional help to increase empathy, perspective taking, and problem-solving

Prohibits harassment of students with respect to race, weight, religion, sexual preference, etc.

Unlawful to not remedy harassment or bullying on school grounds

Includes:• Policies and guidelines• Curriculum changes in

civility, citizenship, and character education

• Training (for staff and point person)

• Record keeping

www.p12.nysed.gov/dignityact/Effective July 1, 2012

University Police – 716.645.2222(if there is an imminent threat)

Office of Judicial Affairs – 716.645.6154(if there is not an imminent threat)

Counseling Center – 716.645.2720(for counseling services)

Office of Equality, Diversity & Affirmative Action – 716.645.2266(for sexual harassment concerns)

Suicide Lifeline1.800.273.TALK

LGBTQ Youth Suicide Hotline1.866.4.U.TREVOR

Crisis Services Hotline716.834.3131

Crisis Chatwww.crisischat.org(online emotional support)