THE EFFECTS OF AN ANTI-BULLYING BIBLIOTHERAPY INTERVENTION ON CHILDREN’S ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR (Published)
Although minimal research supports bibliotherapy in specifically reducing bullying, researchers and practitioners often recommend children’s books and stories to address this topic. The aim, of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an anti-bullying bibliotherapy intervention on primary school children’s bullying behavior and victimization, participant roles, attitudes towards bullying, intentions to intervene in bully–victim problems, perceived efficacy of intervening and actual intervening behavior. An experimental pre-test/post-test design was used. The sample consisted of 98 pupils drawn from the fifth grade classrooms of four primary schools in central Greece. Data were collected using self-report measures, before and immediately after the intervention. The results indicated that the programme contributed to a positive reduction in ‘outsider’ behaviour and enhanced students’ pro-victim attitudes and self-efficacy for intervening in bully/victim incidents. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for anti-bullying interventions.
Keywords: Bibliotherapy, Bullying, Elementary School, Intervention, Victimization