Bullying update: are we making any progress?

1. Gwen M. Glew, MD, MPH* 2. Karin S. Frey, PhD† 3. William O. Walker, MD§ 1. *Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine; Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics and Developmental Medicine, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash. 2. †Research Associate Professor, Educational Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. 3. §Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; Chief, Division of Developmental Medicine, Director, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Discuss the research definition of bullying, how it differs from what laypersons consider bullying, and how having two definitions can be problematic. 2. Identify recognized risk factors for bullying, especially those identified as such in the past 10 years. 3. Describe how to advise parents of children who bully as well as children who are victimized by bullying at school. 4. Understand the school's role in identifying bullying behaviors and their prevention. 5. Know the evidence-based school-wide interventions that have been effective in decreasing bullying. In 2000, my colleagues and I (GMG) at the University of Washington wrote an article for Pediatrics in Review to provide research-based information about the phenomenon of childhood bullying. (1) The purpose of that article was to enhance clinicians' understanding of bullying and to suggest how they might help their patients and families deal with it. Since that time, a substantial amount of research has been conducted. This review summarizes a subset of that literature from the last decade to answer this important question: Are we making any progress toward decreasing bullying among children? Cases presented are not real, and any resemblance to actual persons is coincidental. Rather, these cases are composites of characteristics and scenarios derived from our work designed to illustrate key concepts. The term bullying is problematic. The layperson, the medical practitioner, and the researcher on the subject of bullying may have different concepts of what bullying is. Bullying, for research purposes, is defined as repeated negative behavior by one or more individuals aimed at a person who is perceived as being weaker or more vulnerable. Bullying …