Antibullying programs in schools: how effective are evaluation practices?

Bullying is a problem for schools around the world, and is an important topic for research because it has been associated with negative outcomes on numerous social, psychological, and academic measures. Antibullying prevention and intervention programs have varied greatly in their outcomes, with some studies reporting positive results while others have reported little or no positive impacts. Prompted by accountability demands, many agencies have developed standards with which to assess whether social programs are effective. Antibullying program evaluations have not been systematically reviewed to determine whether these types of standards are being applied. The purpose of this study was to assess the rigor of recent peer-reviewed antibullying program evaluations. Thirty-one peer-reviewed evaluations of antibullying programs, published within the last 10 years, were identified and coded for study characteristics. Shortcomings were identified in many of these program evaluations. In order to improve evaluation practices, researchers should consider using more rigorous designs to identify cause-effect relationships, including control conditions and random assignment, using more appropriate pre-post intervals, using more advanced methods of analyses such as hierarchical linear modeling, and systematically verifying program integrity to obtain dosage data that can be used in the outcome analyses.