The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #40622

Rob W. Inrig, MEd, Richmond School Board, 7811 Granville Avenue, Richmond, BC V6Y 3E3, Canada, 604-668-6058, rinrig@richmond.sd38.bc.ca

Bullying is an important societal issue and the effects on both the victim and the bully are significant and long term. Most intervention programs have focussed on changing the individual's attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and the results have been inconsistent. Three bullying awareness drams have been produced on video with accompanyng discussion guides aimed at enabling adults and youth, victims, bullies and onlookers to more fully understand and respond to bullying behaviors. Topics include the long term emotional effect on those who bully, the role of the spectator , and the redirection of personal liabilities into strengths. The scenarios are left "open ended" to foster rich post viewing discussion. The discussion guide encourages the development of genuine empathy and resiliency through the ownership of personal strengths. There is a strong emphasis on hope both for the victims of bullying and for those who have bullied. The videos and discussion guide are being examined by pretest-posttest evaluation in classrooms. Selections of the videos and discussion guides will be presented as well as results of the classroom evaluation.

Learning Objectives:

• to better understand the causes and effects of bullying;
• to recognize the need to engage adults, youth/children and community in order to reduce bullying behaviours;
• to consider the attitudinal change for those using the curriculum

Keywords: Children and Adolescents, Violence Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: curriculum available for purchase