Fighting bullying : An RCT intervention in Peru

Abstract

The authors evaluate the impact of a randomized anti-bullying intervention that had two components: i)increasing awareness among students and parents about the negative consequences of bullying, and ii) increasing awareness about a new tool to provide online confidential reports regarding violence. The preliminary findings are encouraging and indicate that this a promising model for improving school climate. They find that the intervention reduced students’ support for bullying, their likelihood of a bystander behavior in the presence of violence, and their willingness to report violent incidents. Also, the intervention seemed to reduce depression among students. However, the intervention had an effect not only on students´ self-reported attitudes and perceptions but also on objective outcomes. In particular, the researchers found that the intervention reduced the probability of dropout in the next school year, indicating that the effects of the intervention are persistent in the medium term.