Bullying Prevention: A Developmental, Public Health Framework Using Trauma-Informed and Strength-Based Approaches

Recently I read a fascinating chapter from a book called Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. In this chapter, Nixon and Linkie emphasize on the importance of understanding how trauma and adverse childhood experiences, also called ACEs, are linked with bullying. Children who are exposed to ACEs are at risk of being the victim and also the bully. They are more likely to suffer mental health problems (Felitti et al. 1998), have difficulties establishing and maintaining positive social relationships (Briere & Scott, 2015), and have a tendency to follow a path of aggressive behaviors. For this reason, they believe that a trauma-informed approach and a strength-based perspective is needed for bullying prevention in order to build resilience instead of focusing only on the deficits and the negative consequences of bullying. This means we have to identify and cultivate protective factors such as positive relationships, social-emotional skills and resilience to prevent bullying behaviors. I’m convinced that this way of understanding bullying is really interesting and can have great results in preventing it.

A trauma-informed approach in education involves a change in how an educator views a student who, for example, engages in disruptive behaviors (Thomas et al. 2019). This approach puts the focus on the relationship between the student and the teacher without judging the student's actions and prioritizing understanding their emotions. It has been demonstrated that strong relationships with a trusting adult mitigate the effects of bullying on adolescents’ associated emotional distress (Davis & Nixon, 2014). Caring connections can happen between students and other school personnel too, for example, librarians, cafeteria workers, etc. What I find interesting is that the main idea of this approach is that any person can become a caring adult whose relationship with a student can help as a protective factor. I believe that building relationships between students and adults is an effective method for fighting bullying. Because when the students feel safe and trust an adult, it is more likely that they will come to seek help if they experience a bullying situation, and they will feel supported, reducing the negative consequences of bullying like anxiety, emotional distress, self-blame, etc. 

Not only are positive adult relationships useful in bullying prevention, but peer-positive relationships are also crucial for a healthy youth development and an effective bullying prevention. The authors advocate that friendships are one of the most important parts of adolescence, because they contribute to building resilience and provide emotional support during this period, which is filled with many changes and the transition into adulthood. Having friends is a protective factor for those involved with bullying. Therefore, bullying interventions should focus on building meaningful connections between peers. Another protective factor that the authors mentioned, which I think is very important, is increasing students’ empathy. Empathy training should be the focus of intervention’s programs in bullying prevention and promoting prosocial skills. A program that has shown great results in increasing empathy and reducing aggressive behaviors is Narrative 4, a project that uses storytelling methodology where students can build meaningful relationships and explain their life experiences to others. I believe that if we focus bullying interventions on developing empathy and making connections with people, these actions will help prevent bullying.

Nixon, C.L., & Linkie, C.A. (2023). Bullying Prevention: A Developmental, Public Health Framework Using Trauma-Informed and Strength-Based Approaches. In Martin, C.R., Preedy, V.R., & Patel, V.B. (eds) Handbook of Anger, Aggression, and Violence. (1st ed., p.1807–1829). Cham: Springer.

Made by Diana Armeana Nicolaescu