A group randomized controlled trial evaluating parent involvement in whole-school actions to reduce bullying. Issue 3 (4th May 2018) - Cross, Donna
ABSTRACT: Parents can significantly affect children's peer relationships, including their involvement in bullying. The authors developed and evaluated ways to enhance parents' knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes, and skills related to parent–child communication about bullying. The 3-year Friendly Schools Friendly Families whole-school intervention included a family component, which provided training and resources to support school teams to engage families in awareness-raising and skill-building activities. Over 3, 200 parents of the Grade 2, 4, and 6 cohorts were recruited. For the Grade 2 and 4 cohorts at both 10 and 22 months postintervention, the family component increased parents' self-efficacy to talk about bullying with their children and their frequency of doing so. Grade 4 parents reported more provictim attitudes at 22 months. No differences were found for the Grade 6 cohort. These data suggest a whole-school capacity-building intervention in early and middle childhood can improve the likelihood and frequency of positive parent–child communication about bullying.