Cessation of bullying and intervention with bullies: Junior high school students

The purpose of the present study was to examine interventions for bullying, through clarifying characteristics and factors relating to the cessation of bullying. Participants in the study were 1,245 junior high school students. The main results were as follows : (a) Bullies' moral empathic perception and emotion toward victimization were positively related to the cessation of bullying. The result was supported by bullies' spontaneous answers concerning the cessation of bullying. (b) Analysis of bullies' answers also revealed that teachers' guidance had a strong influence on the cessation of bullying. (c) The "bullying-keeping group" had more serious problems than other groups. It was concluded that in interventions with bullies, it is important to enhance their moral perception and empathy, dealing fully with the emotional aspects. Intervention with students belonging to "bullying-keeping groups" should involve not only individual bullies but also the bullying groups and other classroom members.