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Research

Strengthening student social and emotional wellbeing and preventing bullying behaviours: Insights from 20 years of Friendly Schools research in Australian schools.

Strong evidence supports our current understandings of student bullying behaviours and ways schools can prevent and respond effectively to bullying behaviour. In the late 1990’s, however, little was understood about the most effective ways to reduce bullying in Australian schools. In response to schools’ need for evidence-informed action, a pipeline of research called Friendly Schools was initiated in 1999 which for the past twenty years, has provided robust whole-school evidence-based knowledge and skills to support policy makers, school staff and other practitioners working in schools and families across Australia.

Research

Correlates of Help-Seeking Behaviour in Adolescents Who Experience Bullying Victimisation

A commonly suggested strategy for addressing bullying is for victims to seek help from a trusted person. Despite this recommendation, there are a group of adolescent victims who choose not to seek help. This study aimed to identify factors associated with not seeking help among adolescents who experienced bullying victimisation.

Research

Testing for Response Shift Bias in Evaluations of School Antibullying Programs

Researchers conducting program evaluations in other contexts are advised to consider testing for this potential source of bias in their studies

Research

The Relationship Between Traditional and Cyber Bullying Victimization in Early Adolescence and Emotional Wellbeing: A Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Study

Despite the wealth of knowledge about the impact of bullying victimization, information gaps exist about how traditional and cyber bullying in early adolescence is associated with emotional wellbeing, namely, indicators of positive wellbeing.

Research

Do School-Level Anti-Bullying Interventions Affect Prescriptions of Prescribed Drugs in Young Adulthood? A Case Using the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

Several meta-analyses have demonstrated that bullying prevention programs are successful in reducing bullying. However, scant research addresses if and how such anti-bullying efforts affect long-term internalizing health problems and even less on later use of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy.

Research

Friendly schools’ bullying prevention research: Implications for school counsellors

Bullying varies in frequency, intensity, duration and hence severity, and contributes uniquely and directly to mental health problems, with severe and long-lasting consequences. Almost a half of school-age students report being bullied in the past year.

Research

School Readiness of Children Exposed to Family and Domestic Violence

Children have a universal right to live free from exposure to family and domestic violence (FDV). Children exposed to FDV can experience long-term effects on their physical and psychological health and their social competencies including social, emotional, and cognitive skills and behaviours that underpin successful social adaptation and academic achievement. The aim of this study was to investigate if children exposed to FDV were more likely to be vulnerable on school readiness measures compared to those children who were not exposed.

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Economic Evaluation of an Intervention Designed to Reduce Bullying in Australian Schools

The aim of this study was to estimate the changes to costs and health benefits of implementing the "Friendly Schools Friendly Families" (FSFF) anti-bullying intervention in Australia.

Research

The psychosocial burden of childhood overweight and obesity: evidence for persisting difficulties in boys and girls

Overweight and obese children reported greater psychosocial distress than healthy weight children, and these differences were more pronounced for girls than boys.

Research

Prevalence and correlates of bullying victimisation and perpetration in a nationally representative sample of Australian youth

The current findings showed that involvement in any bullying behaviour was associated with increased risk of concurrent mental health problems