CYBERBULLYING IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL:

1. CYBERBULLYING IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL: PERSPECTIVE OF SCHOOL COUNSELORS September 2011

2. Conducted by the ABACenter on Children and the Law • Funding through HHS/HRSA/MCHB • Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health • Supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

3. METHODOLOGY • ASCA posted link to Blog and Web page, reaching 28,000 members • 20-minute survey

4. FINDINGS

5. BACKGROUND • 700 Respondents • Majority in schools of 6-12th graders • Typical school size: under 1,000 students • Male to female ratio: 55%-45% • Typical number of counselors: 3 or less • Respondents from all 50 states plus DC, Panama, and Virgin Islands

6. How much of a problem is cyberbullying in your school?

7. How prevalent is cyberbullying compared with other types of bullying? Cyberbullying is: Equally as prevalent 47% More prevalent 32% Less prevalent 21%

8. Have any students targeted by cyberbullies come to your attention in the past 12 months? Yes 93% No 7%

9. Number of cyberbullying targets seen in one year by counselors 1-10 students 71% 11-20 students 19% 21-30 students 4% over 30 students 6% 5 is most common number of student targets seen in one year

10. CHARACTERISTICSWhat are the most common attributes of vulnerable students? • Gender: Female • Dating relationship • Sexual orientation

11. What are the most common attributes of students who tend to cyberbully? • Gender: Female • Family dysfunction • Identified as “at risk” • Dating relationship status

12. IMPACTDo student targets show symptoms of distress? Yes 98% No 2%

13. What symptoms of distress have the student targets shown? From most to least frequently observed: • Anxiety • Depression • Drop in grades/poor grades • Head- or stomach-aches • Truancy • Sleep problems • Suicidal behavior (1/4 of 400 respondents)

14. Have you been trained on handling cyberbullying? No 54% Yes 46%

15. SCHOOL RESPONSEHow often are cyberbullying incidents referred for disciplinary action?

16. Does your state have a cyberbullying law?

17. Does your school follow a policy/protocol when responding to cyberbullying? Yes 71% No 29%

18. What does the policy/protocol address? In decreasing order: • Intervention • Referral to law enforcement • Prevention • Confidentiality • Identification • All of the elements listed • Investigation only

19. Typical Interventions In decreasing order: • Parent conference • In-school counseling • SRO/law enforcement involvement • Out-of-school suspension • In-school suspension • Referral to services • Peer mediation • Behavior contract • Expulsion • Other

20. EFFECTIVENESS: Counselors’ Opinions Interventions Most effective • Prevention/education • Parental involvement • Plus SRO/early intervention/peer mediation Least effective • Ignoring the issue/doing nothing • Lack of protocol, policy or training • Suspension/punishment

21. Barriers to Providing Services, Prevention, or Intervention Targets’ fear of retaliation 73% Lack of legal and/or admin support 15%

22. Additional Comments • Lack of time, counselors, laws, training, accountability • Societal problem, needing parental involvement, and “this is just what middle school kids are like” • Schools should be prepared and be proactive • Students need to report and be educated • Need more research

23. Contact Information American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law Sharon Elstein, Research Director sharon.elstein@americanbar.org Eva Klain, Project Director eva.klain@americanbar.org