Teachers are an important part of establishing and maintaining healthy environments for children to learn and grow. Teachers are critical contributors to promoting safe school interactions and facilitating positive relationships.
Disclaimer
This information is designed to help teachers respond to students who may be in need of support. It is not intended to be used as a diagnostic tool or to replace the use of formal assessments employed by mental health professionals. Additionally, it is important to consider the context of the situation, individual differences, and cultural and linguistic factors.
What is bullying?
- Bullying, including cyberbullying, involves repeated actions intended to cause harm in relationships where there is a real or perceived power imbalance.
- Bullying can be verbal (e.g., purposeful humiliation, teasing, threatening), physical (e.g., hitting, kicking, shoving) or relational (e.g., social exclusion, spreading hurtful rumors).
- Bullying can occur in many contexts on school campus or off campus (e.g., in the virtual learning environment [VLE] or cyberbullying) Cyberbullying, for example, is not limited to either physical academic spaces or even the hours spent in them, but in fact, often occurs outside of both.
- Bullying and cyberbullying includes the interactions among students who bully, targets of bullying, and, at times, bystanders. Students may fall into one or more of these groups, depending on the social situation.
- Bias-based bullying is bullying that specifically targets a person because of characteristics of their identity (e.g., race, language, sexual orientation, ability, body size, gender identity, religion and/or practices).
- Cyberbullying is distinct from in-person bullying. It is willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.
- Cyberbullying content can be very public and pervasive, and can exist permanently in a digital archive, such as via social media. It can also be targeted directly to a single student, such as via text or direct messaging.
How does bullying affect students?
There is the potential for long-term negative mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression) for youth whoare the targets of bullying as well as those who bully. Schools with healthy climates that discourage bullying have better academic outcomes.
In-person bullying on school grounds
- Name calling, fighting, humiliation, and public shaming in class or at school.
- Excluding someone from a group or event, such as from the lunch table.
- Gossiping or spreading rumors.
- Physical acts such as shoving, pushing, punching, stealing, or even attempting to intimidate a peer to help them cheat in class or on homework.
- Stalking and following.
Cyberbullying via classroom chat, social media, or gaming platforms
- Name calling, fighting, humiliation, and public shaming online.
- Excluding someone from a chat or other online event.
- Gossiping or spreading rumors, sometimes through a false impersonation/avatar/online personality.
- Sharing incriminating or embarrassing pictures or texts.
- Cyberstalking, inauthentically responding to a post or message, trolling, and “catfishing” or false online personality.
What can teachers do?
Do: Address the inappropriate behavior early and often.
Don’t ignore problematic behavior. Inconsistent responses increase the likelihood of the behavior recurring.
Do: Separately engage students who bully, targets of bullying, and bystanders in resolving the incident.
Don’t focus only on a single individual in the situation or meet with all parties at the same time.
Do: Use consequences that repair the harm and help the perpetrator understand the impact of their actions. Express belief in the bullying student’s ability to engage in positive behaviors and offer praise.
Don’t address the instigator with punitive, humiliating, and exclusionary disciplinary practices (e.g., suspension, public admission of guilt, zero tolerance policies).
Do: Empower bystanders to intervene and report incidents of bullying and affirm their integrity and courage.
Don’t assume that witnesses are uninvolved, even in the VLE.
Do: Be consistent. Set expectations for student behavior and remind students of the expectations frequently. Specific expectations will likely differ between in-person classes and the VLE. Take the time to address microaggressions at the time of the incident.
Specific expectations will likely differ between in-person classes and the VLE. Take the time to address microaggressions at the time of the incident.
Don’t wait for a major event or a designated initiative (e.g., AntiBullying Week) to address behaviors.
Do: Accurately label the inappropriate behavior as bullying.
Don’t minimize or downplay an incident based on assumptions about student characteristics or relationships.
Recommended practices
- Schools with safe and positive school climates often use an explicit social and emotional learning curriculum. Seek training on adopting a comprehensive social emotional learning curriculum to promote safe, positive school environments. Select a social emotional learning curriculum that specifically addresses bullying, cyberbullying, and bias-based bullying (bullying based on identity characteristics, such as race, language, gender). Consider the comfort of each student when planning meetings. Having the target of bullying and the instigator in the same room can be intimidating and embarrassing. Bystanders often wish to remain anonymous.
- With your students, develop a class contract that specifies mutual respect, inclusion, and anti-bullying. Refer to the contract throughout the year.
- Conduct classroom activities around bullying. Discuss its short-term and long-term impacts on health and personality. Have discussions to promote better peer relations.
- Discuss bullying in the context of students’ sociopolitical contexts, including the possibility of bullying targeting students because of their identity, and the importance of addressing bias-based bullying and hate speech.
- Be the adult your students need. Treat students with warmth and respect: Let students know that you are available to listen and help them.
Refer students to further help if needed
- Be familiar with your state’s antibullying legislation and your school’s and district’s policies regarding bullying.
- Encourage parents to report bullying to school staff, rather than attempting to resolve bullying incidents among themselves.
- Review your school policy for seeking student supports.
- Contact school counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other personnel.
Resources
Empirical research
Acker, M.M. & O’Leary, S.G. (1987). Effects of reprimands and praise on behavior in the classroom. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 15, 549-557.
DuPaul, G.J., Eckert, T.L., & Vilardo, B.A. (2012). The effects of school-based interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A meta-analysis, 1996-2010. School Psychology Review, 41, 387-412.
Fabiano, G.A., Pelham, W.E. Jr., Coles, E.K., Gnagy, E.M., Chronis-Tuscano, A., & O’Connor, B.C. (2009). A meta-analysis of behavioral treatments for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 29, 29-140.
Pfiffner, L.J., Villodas, M., Kaiser, N., Rooney, M., & McBurnett, K. (2013). Educational outcomes of a collaborative school-home behavioral intervention for ADHD. School Psychology Quarterly, 28, 25-36.
Sarver, D.E., Rapport, M.D., Kofler, M.J., Raiker, J. S., & Friedman, L. M. (2015). Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Impairing deficit or compensatory behavior? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 1219–1232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0011-1
Related Mental Health Primers
The Mental Health Primers are developed by the Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education. This resource was updated in October 2021 with support from cooperative agreement NU87PS004366 funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views or endorsement of the CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services. This resource is a product of CDC funding received between 2018 and 2024.
Last updated: October 2021