Bully Busters Abbreviated: Evaluation of a Group-Based Bully Intervention and Prevention Program

The present study sought to examine the efficacy of an abbreviated version of the Bully Busters program, a psychoeducationally based group intervention and prevention program designed to increase teacher's knowledge and use of bullying intervention skills, as well as teacher self-efficacy in intervening with bullying so as to subsequently effect change in the school climate. Teacher-participants attended seven group sessions designed to provide them with exposure to the didactics of the model, as well as to engage them in active learning, role-playing, and cognitive and emotional processing of their experiences of the impact of bullying behaviors on their teaching efficacy as well as the school climate. Materials and experiences from these groups were then taken to the classroom and implemented with the student-participants vis-a-vis classroom exercises. The findings suggest that an abbreviated group-based version of the Bully Busters program can have positive effect on teacher reports of efficacy in intervening with bullying behaviors.