Lessons From a Concurrent Evaluation of Eight Antibullying Programs Used in Sweden

Abstract

Sweden has a low prevalence of bullying and Swedish schools are legally obliged to have anti-bullying policies. Many commercial programs are available. A mixed methods, quasi-experimental, concurrent evaluation of 8 programs, chosen from a pool of 21 widely used anti-bullying programs, was planned. Preliminary data, based on 835 stakeholder interviews, both individual and group, revealed extensive program-contamination in "treatment" schools (n = 31), and extensive program use in nominally designated control/comparison schools (n = 8). An evolved evaluation strategy focused on arrays of program components, use of which was assessed through detailed qualitative data gathered from principals, teaching and non-teaching staff, anti-bullying teams, and pupils. Bullying victimization, Grades 4-9, in 39 schools, was assessed by questionnaire, administered in three waves. Response rates were 76.1% (with N = 10,919) at the first wave, 74.3% (of 10,660) at the second wave, and 70.6% (of 10,523) at the final wave. Longitudinal aggregate and individual outcomes (3,487 pupils answered all three questionnaires) were assessed. Prevalence of victimization was 8.1% at first wave and (7.4% at last). Based on individual data, persistent victimization (bullied at both waves) was estimated at 1.5% with 4.7% experiencing a worsening situation (not bullied at the first wave but bullied at last) and 4.8% with an improved situation. Hierarchical cluster analysis was used to designate intervention types (shared arrays of strong, weak, or absent component use) and schools with similar approaches. A quasi-experimental, longitudinal design with individual data and an aggregate cross-sectional follow-up indicated differences in effective, ineffective, and iatrogenic components, component clusters (intervention types), and successful schools.