The Impact of an Anti-Bullying Program on the Prevalence of Bullying in Junior and Senior High School

Abstract

Scope of Study:

This dissertation examines the impact of an anti-bullying program on the prevalence of bullying in junior and senior high school. Three research questions were posed:

1. Will an anti-bullying program reduce the prevalence of bullying in Junior (Grades 7-9) and Senior High (Grades 10-12) school?
2. Will the program be more effective at the Junior or Senior High school level?
3. Are there gender issues related to the effectiveness of the program (i.e., do males or females benefit more from the implementation of the program)?

Findings and Conclusions:

Data collected and analyzed to address the above questions suggest that the anti-bullying program was ineffective in reducing the prevalence of bullying at the junior and senior high school level. The treatment group at St. Bernard's School did not show any statistically significant changes when compared to the control group at Jacques Fontaine School.

When grade was analyzed in the treatment group as a factor on the impact of the program, in all but one of the questions examined, there was little in the way of statistical significance to report. In the one question where significance was observed, students at the grade 10-12 level reported a lower level of bullying than their grade 7-9 counterparts.

In addition, when gender was examined in the treatment group as a factor on the impact of the anti-bullying program, no statistical significance was observed. Thus, it would appear the anti-bullying program chosen for this study was ineffective in reducing the prevalence of bullying in junior and senior high school students.