Intervention And Therapy For Perpetrators And Victims Of Bullying: A Systematic Review

Bullying is a form of repeated and aggressive behavior with serious consequences for victims and perpetrators, who often suffer from their experiences long after the bullying episodes have ended. However, the therapeutic treatment of bullying and its consequences represents a neglected topic in bullying research. Objective of the present article is to review publications systematically describing targeted interventions for the treatment of bullying (for victims and perpetrators) and associated disorders. The selection process consisted of a comprehensive systematic search in national and international databases that identified 34 targeted interventions in 31 publications from 14 different countries. The review of ten interventions featuring a controlled design revealed that in particular treatments on both the individual and socio-ecological level (particularly parents) are effective. The remaining 24 treatments lack a controlled evaluation. Two thirds of the interventions focus on victims. In contrast to the treatment of perpetrators, the emphasis here lies on group therapy. Although treatments of bullying apply a range of therapeutic approaches and methods, cognitive behavioral therapy is represented most prominently. As a conclusion one can observe an existing lack of research in evidence-based targeted interventions for the treatment of bullying and its consequences for victims and perpetrators. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review of therapeutic interventions for bullying in children and adolescents.