Bullying: A School Mental Health Perspective

Abstract

(from the chapter) The current Zeitgeist surrounding the phenomenon of bullying has reached an unprecedented crescendo. Most states have passed some type of antibullying law, school personnel are struggling with how to effectively reduce bullying among school-aged youth, and websites and programs addressing the issue have increased exponentially. This chapter provides a framework for bullying as a mental health issue and will argue that in order to prevent bullying behaviors, schools, communities, and families will need to work together in order to create a culture where bullying is not rewarded, supported, or accepted. We review standard disciplinary practices and social-emotional learning approaches and describe the Target Bullying Intervention Program (T-BIP) designed to evaluate and address the mental health issues that may be underlying the bullying behaviors. Finally, a call to understand bullying as a mental health problem that, by definition, requires effective mental health promotion and treatment is asserted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved)