Cyberbullying

Laura Barros, Maya Hamilton, Yesenia Millan

Introduction to Cyberbullying
Definition:

Willful and repeated harm

inflicted through the use of
computers, cell phones, and
other electronic devices
(Hinduja & Patchin, 2015).
Quick Facts
● Affects all races and genders
● 95% of teens are connected to
the internet; 85% are social
media users
● Kids can get away with
cyberbullying easier than
bullying in person
● Tinker v. Des Moines
○ Students wore black armbands to
protest Vietnam war, suspended
○ Court ruled 1st amendment
rights not forfeited once
students walked into school
● Schools are hesitant to
intervene with cyberbullying
because most of it happens
outside of campus
○ Must prove substantial
disruption to school discipline
or the rights of others
● Jessica Logan Act
○ Redefines bullying to include
cyberbullying and compels
school districts to offer
training for educators to
address the problem
Effects of cyberbullying
● 64% of victimized students said
it affected their sense of
safety and ability to learn
● Kids are hesitant to report
bullying for fear of
retaliation of peers or getting
their electronics taken away
● Mean comments, rumors, sexual
harassment, threaten to harm,
cruel pictures
An example from The Duff (2015) of how fast bullying online can
spread through a school and beyond
 Tiers of
Intervention

Why MTSS is the best approach to address the issue of cyberbullying

 Tier 1
Changing the school climate
Educational Programs for school
staff, parents/guardians, and
● School climate survey to screen
students
for issues among students
● School-Wide PBIS
● Warning signs of cyberbullying
● Social-Emotional Learning
● What are the consequences?
Curriculum
● How to talk with your child
● Participating in Cyberbullying
about cyberbullying
Awareness Month, Digital
● How to respond
Citizenship Week
Creation of a cyberbullying policy
and establish a shared definition
across stakeholders
Progress Monitoring for Tier 1
Educational Programming Changing the School Climate

● Pre and Post test comparison to ● School climate survey for

identify levels of learning
about the material and
confidence in ability to take
action
Policy
students and staff
● Pre and post test comparison
for interventions like Digital
Citizenship Week to evaluate
the impact of the program

● Comparison of discipline data

related to cyberbullying -
looking at ability of the
school to intervene
Group Counseling Sessions Tier 2
● Victims
○ Training to increase Restorative Practices: to help
assertiveness, to develop a
cyberbullies see the harm that
more positive self-concept, to
their actions have done and to
increase social skills and
reduce social isolation, and to repair the relationship between the
practice positive behaviors bully and the victim
that reduce the risk of further
victimization ● Restorative conversations
● Perpetrators of Cyberbullying ● Problem solving circles
○ Training to teach them the
● Mini restorative conferences
consequences of the behavior,
to develop a more positive
self-concept, to improve social
problem-solving and anger
management skills, and to
increase their ability to
empathize with victims
● (Chibbaro, 2007)
Progress Monitoring for Tier 2
Group Counseling/Training for both
victims and bullies
● Pre and post test comparison
● Goal Attainment Scaling to
evaluate the student’s
competence and use of taught
skills
Restorative Practices
● Survey of those involved to
evaluate success of the
practices
● Follow up with individuals
involved
Goal Attainment Scaling
Tier 3
One-on-one counseling for
cyber bully and victim -
SFBT, CBT, etc.
Parent conferences with
those who have students who
have either been bullied
online or have bullied
another student online
Formal restorative
conferences
Crisis intervention
strategy to meet the mental
health needs of those
bullied online (Davis &
Schmidt, 2016) - Mental
Health First Aid
Progress Monitoring for Tier 3
One-on-one Counseling Formal Restorative Conference

● Student feedback survey ● Survey for those involved

● Goal Attainment Scaling ● Follow up with students

Parent Conference Crisis intervention strategy to

meet the mental health needs of
● Follow up with parents on those bullied online
student behavior
● Self-assessment of our program
Role of the School
Counselor
Role of the School Counselor
● Be aware of ASCA Ethical ● Educate yourself on current
Standards social media platforms
○ Promote a safe environment ● Discipline is NOT your job
○ Know of legislation involving
cyberbullying and inform
parents & students of their
rights
○ Inform appropriate authorities
when a student poses a threat
to themselves or others
○ Provide services to perpetrator
and victim
○ Inform school officials
Role of the School Counselor-Mtss Framework
● Implement plans for all
three tiers
○ Creation of school policy
○ Educational programming for
students, staff, and parents
○ Running small group
counseling sessions
○ Formal restorative
conferences
○ One-on-one counseling
 ● Teachers

Key Players and

● Administration
● Social workers
● Outside agencies

stakeholders ● Other resources

○
○
StompOutBullying.org
StopBullying.gov
Role of the School Counselor- Collaboration
● Educate teachers and other faculty/staff members
● Create a cyberbullying task force
○ Discuss incidents
○ Plan workshops
○ Host training
● Create rules/policies as a team
● Work together to provide emotional support
References
Chibbaro, J. S. (2007). School counselors and the cyberbully: Interventions and implications. Professional School Counseling, 11(1),
2156759X0701100109.

Davis, N., & Schmidt, C. (2016). Cyberbullying and cyber abuse intervention: the three-tiered model for schools. Journal of Creativity
in Mental Health, 11(3-4), 366-377.

Espelage, D. L., & Hong, J. S. (2017). Cyberbullying prevention and intervention efforts: current knowledge and future directions. The
Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 62(6), 374-380.

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2015). Cyberbullying legislation and case law. Implications for School Policy and Practice. Pridobljeno,

5, 2016.

Hutson, E., Kelly, S., & Militello, L. K. (2018). Systematic review of cyberbullying interventions for youth and parents with
implications for evidence‐based practice. Worldviews on evidence‐based nursing, 15(1), 72-79.

Stone, C. B. (2017). Ethics and law: school counseling principles. Alexandria, VA: American

School Counselor Association.