School‐based anti‐bullying approaches for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities: a systematic review and synthesis

<p>Mainstream anti-bullying interventions can reduce primary school-level victimisation by 15&ndash;16% and bullying perpetration by 19%&ndash;20% (<em>Aggression and Violent Behavior</em>, 2019;&nbsp;<strong>45</strong>: 111&ndash;133). Less is known ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Badger, JR, Nisar, A, Hastings, RP
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024
Description
Summary:<p>Mainstream anti-bullying interventions can reduce primary school-level victimisation by 15&ndash;16% and bullying perpetration by 19%&ndash;20% (<em>Aggression and Violent Behavior</em>, 2019;&nbsp;<strong>45</strong>: 111&ndash;133). Less is known about anti-bullying interventions for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) even though they are at least 2&ndash;4 times more likely to be involved in bullying. This systematic review aimed to identify reported anti-bullying approaches for pupils with SEND, what the evidence is for these approaches reducing bullying and which design factors are linked to a reduction in bullying. We searched 10 databases and four grey literature sources for articles that evaluated school-based anti-bullying strategies for children and young people aged 4&ndash;18&thinsp;years with SEND. This review included 15 studies and used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for quality and risk of bias. Ten reported a reduction in bullying involvement, but the evidence was variable. A further 27 articles formed a &lsquo;suggested strategies&rsquo; review which synthesised articles without evaluations of interventions but that suggested anti-bullying strategies for use with pupils with SEND. The main suggestion was encouraging social skills and networks. Interventions should be evaluated for feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness. High-quality randomised controlled trials are required to build an evidence base to support pupils with SEND.</p>