Bullying and mental health in children: development and evaluation of the ThinkSMART program, and an exploration of the pathways from victimisation to mental health difficulties

Bullying occurs when there is an imbalance of power between the bully and the victim, there are repeated negative actions against the victim, and there is a deliberate intention on the part of the bully to cause harm (Olweus, 1997; Slee, 1995). In recent years, there has been a surge in interest, publicity, and research in the area of bullying (Cook, Williams, Guerra, Kim and Sadek, 2010). Recent prevalence rates of bullying within Australia indicate that it is a significant problem, with 27% of children reporting being the victim of frequent bullying (Cross et al., 2009). Research has shown that being victimised is associated with low selfesteem, anxiety, depression, poor school achievement, loneliness and increased chance of further victimisation (Arseneault et al., 2008; Cassidy, 2009; Fisher et al., 2012; Gini & Pozzoli, 2009; Lereya et al., 2013; Zwierzynska, Wolke, & Lereya, 2013), while perpetrating bullying in childhood has been associated with an increased risk of later anti-social acts such as aggression, substance use and delinquency in addition to increased risk of depression and self-harm (Kaltiala-Heino, Frojd & Marttunen, 2010; Kaltiala-Heino, Rimpela, Rantanen, & Rimpela, 2000; Olweus, 1991; Winsper, Lereya, Zanarini & Wolke, 2012). The current research project aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a brief anti-bullying schoolbased program utilising cognitive-behavioural principles and including skills of problem solving, perspective taking, help seeking and emotion regulation; the ThinkSMART program. This was achieved through three interconnected studies. Study 1 involved running a series of discussion groups with 45 students from grades 5 to 7 and 26 teaching staff drawn from two different primary schools. The discussion groups were asked a series of targeted questions to explore students’ and teachers’ understanding of bullying, to determine their experiences with bullying and anti-bullying initiatives, and their preferences for dealing with bullying problems. The feedback from this process was to be used to supplement the existing literature base and theory and to be incorporated in decisions regarding the development of the intervention program. Study 2 included the development of the intervention program, the ThinkSMART program using cognitive-behavioural principles and incorporating problem solving, perspective taking, help seeking and emotion regulation. The program was designed to be delivered within the classroom with grades 5 to 7 over six weekly sessions. Study 2 also evaluated the efficacy of the ThinkSMART program. Six primary schools within the Brisbane region in Australia participated in the evaluation of the program, with all students in grades 5 to 7 completing the program within their regular class curriculum at three of the schools, and