Strategies to Combat Bullying: Parental Responses to Bullies, Bystanders, and Victims

ORCID

May: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8275-6773

MSU Affiliation

College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Sociology; James Worth Bagley College of Engineering; Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Social, Therapeutic, and Robotic Systems (STaRS) Lab; Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems; Social Science Research Center; Department of Psychology

Creation Date

2026-06-01

Abstract

Despite numerous studies on the topic of bullying, there remains a dearth of information on how parents respond to bullying and the extent to which they are aware of their child’s bullying experiences. Using qualitative data from 54 parents in a southeastern state, we explore advice that parents give their children about how to respond when their child is a bullying victim and a bystander in a bullying incident and how fearful parents are of their child being a victim of bullying and reasons behind their fear. Findings demonstrate that parental messages about responding to bullying victimization and intervening on behalf of other bully victims generally mirror those provided by schools as part of their bullying prevention efforts. However, misunderstandings about bullying and bullying responses among parents limit the effectiveness of the strategies they suggest for their children. Implications for bullying prevention programs and research are also discussed.

Publication Date

2-11-2018

Publication Title

Youth and Society

Publisher

SAGE Publications

First Page

358

Last Page

376

Rights

© The Author(s) 2018

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X18756491