Reducing peer victimisation in Australian schools through targeted and universal approaches

Phase 4

Completed

• Conditions: Peer victimisation; Bullying; Child anxiety; Public Health - Health promotion/education; Public Health - Other public health; Mental Health - Anxiety

• Registration Number: ACTRN12613001145796
• Lead Sponsor: Macquarie University

Brief Summary

Aims: The PAVe project aimed to evaluate methods to prevent bullying victimisation and promote students’ social-emotional skills in Australian primary schools. Methods: The PAVe project consisted of four conditions. Each school was randomly allocated to one of these conditions. Within each school, “high-risk” students were identified if they scored high on measures of victimisation and anxiety. One of the conditions in the project was a ‘whole-school’ program (Friendly Schools) while another condition utilised a program exclusively designed for “high-risk” students only (Cool Kids – Taking Control). A third condition included a combination of these two interventions. The fourth condition allowed schools to simply use their usual strategies and was used as a control/comparison group. Outcomes: Across the two years of the trial, overall levels of victimisation decreased. This decrease occurred broadly across all of the four conditions. In other words, children’s victimisation decreased similarly, whether or not schools offered specific bullying programs or simply their usual SEL curriculum. Overall, implementation of the programs was less than optimal. Within Friendly Schools, implementation of the whole-of-school component was poor, while implementation of the in-class curriculum component was strong. Within Cool Kids- Taking Control, implementation of the program by parents at home was poor. However, in a few cases, school counsellors implemented the program directly with children in school and this completion was excellent.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2013-10-15
• Study Completion: 2017-06-30
• Last Update Posted: 13 January 2020

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 8453

Inclusion Criteria

Schools expressing interest in participation from private, religious, and public systems.

Two levels of analysis - Universal and targeted.
Universal - all children in grades 4 & 5, who provide consent.
Targeted - children in grades 4 & 5 with consent who score greater than 1 standard deviation above the norm on child anxiety (SCAS) and
report victimisation every few weeks or more often on the BVQ.

Exclusion Criteria

Parent refusal for child to participate.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reductions on Peer Experiences Checklist (PECK) scores[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month];Reductions on Revised Olweus Bully-Victim Questionnaire[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month];Reductions on Participant Role Questionnaire (PRQ)[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Reductions on Spence Childrens Anxiety Scale (parent and child versions)[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month];Reductions on the Short Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ)[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month];Improvements in quality of life assessed by Child Health Utility Index 9D (CHU9D)[0-month (2 months before program implementation), 6-month, 12-month, 24-month]