Strategic Clarity on Different Prevention Levels of School Bullying and Violence: Rethinking Peer Defenders and Selected Prevention. (2nd October 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Downes, Paul; Cefai, Carmel
• Is Part Of: Journal of school violence. Volume 18:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 510
• Page End: 521
• Publication Date: 2019-10-02
• Subjects: Selected prevention -- indicated prevention -- peer defenders -- KiVa -- discriminatory bullying; School violence -- Prevention -- Periodicals; School environment -- Periodicals; 371.78205
• DOI: 10.1080/15388220.2019.1566915
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1538-8220

Abstract

ABSTRACT: While there is growing recognition of the need to distinguish between universal, selected, and indicated prevention levels in school bullying and violence research, this more nuanced focus is far from being systematically applied in key research studies in this area internationally. This article raises concerns about the need for such a differentiated focus to address issues of bullying perpetrators' different motivations to underpin critique of a peer defenders model. Such a peer defenders model conflates moderate risk (selected prevention) level of perpetrators' motivations with those of chronic need (indicated prevention). A theoretical framework for selected prevention focusing on minority identity and discriminatory bullying is developed to incorporate a focus on inclusive systems and system blockage, building on social-ecological systems theory.