Differential effects of the KiVa anti-bullying program on popular and unpopular bullies

a r t i c l e i n f o This study utilized data from the evaluation of the Finnish KiVa program in testing the prediction that school bullies' high perceived popularity would impede the success of anti-bullying interventions. Multiple-group structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted on a subsample of 911 third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders identified as perpetrators of bullying. They belonged to 77 Finnish schools, including 39 schools implementing the KiVa program and 38 control schools. Data on peer-reported bullying and perceived popularity were collected before program implementation and one year later. Controlling for sex, age, and initial levels of bullying, KiVa participation resulted in lower rates of bullying (indicated by fewer peer nominations) after one year for bullies of low and medium popularity. However, there was no significant effect for those high in popularity, suggesting that popular bullies are less responsive to anti-bullying interventions than less popular bullies. School bullying – the repetition of intentional, aggressive behaviors that involve an abuse of power – is a pervasive phenomenon in many countries (Currie et al., 2008) and has long-lasting damaging consequences on the mental and physical health of victims (e.g. levels of bullying in schools have been met with mixed success. Meta-analyses on the effectiveness of anti-bullying programs have shown that approximately half of them have no or limited effect Recognizing that bullying can be highly rewarding, several theorists have proposed that bullies' high popularity in the peer group accounts for anti-bullying programs' mitigated success (see Volk, Camilleri, Dane, & Marini, 2012). To our knowledge however, this assumption has never been tested. Bullying incidents generally take place in a group context where the perpetrators are socially powerful (e.g., Salmivalli, 2010). A large body of research shows that many aggressive children enjoy high status among their peers. Although young bullies tend to be low in social preference – an indicator of peers' personal liking usually associated with desirable traits such as kindness and cooperativeness – they often have high levels of perceived popularity Anti-bullying interventions should be less effective for popular bullies compared to their unpopular counterparts for three reasons: 1) popular bullying perpetrators reap valued social rewards for their behavior, 2) a position of power in the peer group facilitates bullying behaviors in various ways, 3) bystanders should be more motivated to join in the bullying and less motivated to intervene against it when it is initiated …