School Bullying and Mental Health

Bullying amongst young people is a serious and pervasive problem, and recent rapid advances in electronic communication technologies have provided even more tools for bullies to exploit. School Bullying and Mental Health collates current research evidence and theoretical perspectives about school bullying in one comprehensive volume, identifying the nature and extent of bullying and cyberbullying at school, as well as its impact on children and young people's emotional health and well-being. There are many negative consequences of bullying, and children and young people who have been victimised often suffer long-term psychological problems, such as increased levels of anxiety, depressive symptoms, social isolation, loneliness and suicidal ideation. Perpetrators of bullying also have a heightened risk of experiencing problems such as anxiety and depression, as well as eating disorders and antisocial behaviour. Founded on rigorous academic research, this important book tackles the negative consequences of bullying, and bullying culture itself, by examining the social and cultural contexts that perpetuate such behaviour from childhood through adolescence and potentially into adulthood. Containing contributions from an international team of authors, this book explores current interventions to prevent and reduce school bullying and to alleviate its negative effects on the mental health of children and young people. In-depth discussion of the profound implications of this research for researchers, practitioners and policymakers makes this book essential reading for those interested in bullying culture and the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.

Helen Cowie is Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. She has authored and co-authored a number of influential books on mental health and youth, emotional development, bullying, cyberbullying and peer support, including From Birth to Sixteen (Routledge 2012) and Bullying Among University Students (Routledge 2016), which she co-edited with Carrie-Anne Myers. Carrie-Anne Myers is a senior lecturer in Criminology and Sociology at City, University of London, where she researches and publishes in a number of key fields: school violence and bullying, victims, victimology and criminal justice policy, and gendered criminology. She co-edited Bullying Among University Students with Helen Cowie (Routledge 2016).

Series Editor's Foreword Contributors Theme 1: The Nature of Bullying 1. What We Know about School Bullying 2. Theoretical Perspectives on the Continuities of Bullying over Time Theme 2: The Interface between Bullying and Crime: Its Long-term Implications 3. Boundaries of Bullying: When Does Bullying Behaviour Become Criminal? 4. Homophobic, Biphobic and Transphobic Bullying in Schools 5. Contested and Complex Terrain: Sexual Violence in UK Schools 6. Exploring the Nature and Extent of Hate Crime in Schools and Interventions to Combat it 7. Bullying of Religious Minorities and Asylum Seekers Theme 3: Bullying: Its Impact on Emotional Health and Well-Being 8. The Bullied Child in the Vulnerable Adult: Therapeutic Work with Adults Bullied in Childhood 9. Addressing the Mental Health and Emotional Needs of Children who Bully 10. The Moderating Role of Father Acceptance in the Relationship between Victimization and Depressive Symptons Theme 4: The Social And Cultural Contexts which Challenge or Promote School Bullying 11. Bullying and Social Media 12. Fostering Resilience in Vulnerable Children 13. Bullying and Resilience within a Neoliberal Framework: Implications for Mental health and Well-being? 14. School Culture as a Determinant of Bullying: Exploring the Participant Roles Theme 5: Effective Interventions and Policies to Counteract School Bullying 15. Paper Tiger or Effective Guidelines: The Use of Policies and Procedures to Address School Bullying 16. Reducing School Bullying: A Whole-school Approach 17. Convivencia: A Strategy that Prevents School Bullying and Promotes Emotional Health and Well-being 18. The Impact of Social and Emotional Training (SET) on School Bullying in Palestine and Sweden Commentaries and Epilogue 19. Continuities into the University 20. Continuities into the Workplace: What can we Learn from Research into Workplace Bullying? 21. The Perspective of a Teacher and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). 22. Epilogue: Implications and Considerations for Future Research in the Field of Young People's Mental Health