Anti-bullying Program Reduces Gossip Among School Children

A recent study has pointed out that a widely used anti-bullying program reduces nasty gossip among elementary school children.

Researchers from the University of Washington reported that Seattle students who took part in the three-month 'Steps to Respect' anti-bullying program showed a 72 percent drop in malicious gossip.

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Karin Frey, associate professor of educational psychology in Seattle, said that teachers tend to not view gossip as a significant form of bullying, but it can lead to physical bullying.

To conduct the study, the researchers used Palm Pilots to electronically record second-by-second observations of 610 students at six elementary schools in the Seattle area.

They recorded each child's behaviour on the playground for five minutes once a week for 10 weeks in the fall and 10 weeks in the spring.

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After observers heard gossip on the playground in the fall, the anti-bullying program - which encouraged empathy, taught assertiveness and emphasized that bullying is not a social norm - was conducted in half of the 36 classrooms.

The study said children in the 'Steps to Respect' classrooms had 234 fewer instances of gossip per class of 25, or a 72 percent decrease in gossip among the students.

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Bullying victims who retaliate often end up bullied even more, therefore the 'Steps to Respect' teaches students to not fight back and these children were more likely to avoid being a victim of gossip in the spring.

However, if bystanders speak up and tell the bully to 'Knock it off', the bullying stops, said Frey.

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The study is published in the winter issue of School Psychology Review.

Source-ANI