Bullying Olweus 95

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age learning potential and specificcognitive deficiencies of a givengroup, as we ll as a tool for exploringthose conditions under which chil-dren's cognitive functioning can bemodified most effectively. For exam-ple, the intensity of mediation dur-ing the learning phase of the LPADhas been shown to be an importantvariable. Research indicates that al-though average and above-averagestudents benefit from even low-intensity m edia tion, their less ad-vanced peers can attain significantchanges only with intensive media-t ion. 10

CONCLUSIONDynamic cognitive assessment isthe consequence of deve loping con-cerns about standard psychometricevaluation.The notions of ZPD (Vy-gotsky) and MLE (Feuerstein) providetheoretical m odels for alternative ap-proaches. We suggest that Feuer-stein's version, as embodied In theLPAD, offers a new philosophy andtechnique of psychoeducat ional

testing. This philosophy is based onthe belief In human cognitive modi-fiability and the goal of shaping thetesting situation to answer prospec-tive rather than retrospective ques-tions. Assessment according to thisapproach is able to provide answersto the question of how to change thecondition, rather than the questionof what caused the condition or itsseverity. The increase in the child'scognitive modifiability during theprocess of assessment is the pivotalelement of this approach. The prin-ciples of dynamic cognitive assess-ment call for a reevaiuatlon of therelationships between psycholo-gists-diagnosticians on the one hand andeducators on the other.

Notes1. C. Lidz, Historical perspectives, inDynamic-Assessment. C. Lidz, d. (Guilford Press, Now York,1987).2. L. Vygotsky, Mind in Society (Harvard Uni-versity Press, Cambridge, MA, 1976); L. Vygotsky,Thought and Language, rev. ed. (MIT Press, Cam-bridge, MA, 1986): A. Kozulm, Vygotsky'sPsychol-og y (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA,

1990).3. R, Feuerstein, The Dynamic .Assessment ofRetarded Performers: Learning PotentialAssessment

Device (Univers ity Park Press, Baltim ore, 1979); R, Feuerstein, /nstrivmenta/Enrichment versity Park Press, Baltimore, M D , 1979),4. J. Campione and A. Brown , Linking dynassessment with school achievement, in DynAssessment. C. Lidz, Ed, (Guilford Press, New1987).5. ].S. Carlson and K.H, Wiedl, Tbe dynassessment of intelligence, in Interactive As

ment.C. Haywood and D, Tzuriel, Eds. (SpriVerlag, New York, 1992 ); M Sudoff, Measureassessing learning potential, in Dynamic Asment C. Lidz, Ed. (Guilford Press, New Y1987); N. Vye, M.S. Burns, V.R. Delclos, andBransford, A comprehensive approach to asseinteilectuaMy handicapped children, in DynAssessment. C Lidz, Ed (Gu ilford Press, New1987).6. J. Guthke and S. Wingenfeld, The leatest concept. Origins, state of the art, and trendInteractiveAssessment.C .Haywood and D, TEds, (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992); |. GuDevelopments in learning potential assessmenLearning PotentialAssessment J.H.M. HameSijsma, and A.J,|.M. Ruijssenaars, Eds. (SweZeitllnger, Amsterdam, 1993).7. R. Eeuerstein, P.R. Klein, and A. Tanbaum, Eds,, Mediated Learning Experience: retical. Psychosocial. and Learning Implica(Ereund, London, 1991).8. R. Eeuerstein, Y. Rand,andJ.Rynders, Accept Me As I Am: Helping "R etarded" PeopExcel (Plenum Press, New York, 1988).9. K.|. Keane, A. Tannen baum , and G. KCognitive competence: Reality and potential in

deaf inInteractiveAssessment, C. Hayw ood anTzuriel, Eds. (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992Silverman and M. Waksman, Assessing the leapotential of penetentiary inmates, in Interactivsessment. C. Haywood and D, Tzur ie l , (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992).10 . D. Tzuriel and R. Eeuerstein, Dyngroup assessment for prescriptive teaching, in active Assessment. C . Haywood and D. TEds, (Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992).

Bullying or Peer Abuse at School:Facts and InterventionDan Olweus

"For two years, Johnny, a quiet13-year-oid,was a human playthingfor some of his classmates. The teen-agers badgered )ohnny for money,forced him to swallow weeds anddrink milk mixed with detergent,beat him up in the rest room and tieda string around his neck, leadingh im around as a 'pe t ' . Whenjohnny's torturers were interrogatedabout the bullying, they said theypursued their victim because it wasf un . " '

Bullying among schoolchildren iscertainly a very old and we ll-knownphenomenon. Though many peopleare acquainted with the problem, itwas not until fairly recentlyIn theeariy 1970sthat it became the ob-ject of systematic research.^ For anumber of years, these efforts werelargely confined to Scandinavia. Inthe 1980s and early 1990s, how-ever, bullying among schoolchil-dren began to attract attention alsoin other countries, such as Great

Britain,Japan, the Netherlands , Atra l ia, Canada, and the UniStates.

Dan Olweus is Professor of Pchology at the University of Bgen, No rwa y. FHe has pub lishednumber of articles and books aggression and bullying, and 1976 was awarded a prize for ostanding research on aggression the International Society for Rsearch on Aggression (ISRA). Fthe year 1986-1987, he was a Flow at the Center for AdvancStudy in the Behavioral ScienceStanford. Address correspondento Dan Olweus, Division of Psonality Psychology, Oysteinsga3, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.


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pointed in fact in the opposite direc-t ion:The bullies had unusually littleanxiety and insecurity, or wereroughly average on such dimen-sions.In summary, the typical bulliescan be described as having an ag-gressive reaction pattern combined(in the case of boys) with physicalstrength. I have identified four child-rearing factors that are likely to beparticularly important for the devel-opment of such a reaction pattern (inboys):'* the basic emotional attitudeof the primary caretaker(s) towardthe child during early years (i.e., in -difference, lack of warmth and in-volvement); permissiveness for ag-gressive behavior by the chi ld(inadequate limit setting); use ofpower-assertive disciplinary tech-niques, such as physical punish-ment; and the temperament of thechild (active, hotheaded).

As regards the possible psycho-logical sources underlying bullyingbehavior, the pattern of empiricalfindings suggests at least three,partly interrelated motives (in partic-ular in boys, who have been studiedmore extensively than girls). First,the bullies have strong needs forpower and dom inance; they seem toenjoy being in control and subduingother people. Second, in light of thefamily conditions under which manyof them have been reared," it is nat-ural to assume that they have devel-oped a certain degree of hostility to-ward the environmen t; as a result ofsuch feelings and impulses, theymay derive satisfaction from inflict-ing injury and suffering upon otherindividuals. Finally, there is clearlyan instrumental component to theirbehavior. Bullies often coerce theirvictims to provide them with money,cigarettes, beer, and other things ofvalue. In addition, it is obvious thatbullying behavior is in many situa-tions rewarded with prestige.

Bullying can also be viewed as acomponent of a more generallyanti-social and rule-breaking (conduct-disordered) behavior pattern, in my

follow-up studies, I have foundstrong support for this view. Approx-imately 35% to 40% of boys whowere cha racterized as bullies inGrades 6 through 9 had been con-victed of at least three officially reg-istered crimes by the age of 24. Incontrast, this was true of only 10%of the boys not classified as bullies.Thus, as young adults, the formerschool bu llies had a fourfold in-crease in relatively serious, recidiv istcriminality.

A QUESTION OFFUNDAMENTALDEMOCRATIC RIGHTSThe victims of bullying form alarge group of students who tend tobe neglected by their schools. For along time, I have argued that it is afundamental democratic right for achild to feel safe in school and to bespared the oppression and repeated,intentional humiliation implied inbullying. No student should beafraid of going to school for fear ofbeing harassed or degraded, and no

parent should need to worry aboutsuch things happening to his or herchildFollowing up on an earlier pro-posal of mine (from 1981), theSwedish Parliament has recentlypassed a school law containing for-mu lations that are very sim ilar to theideas just expressed. The law alsoplaces responsibility for realizationof these goals, including develop-ment of an intervention program

against bullying for the individualschool, with the principal.

EFFECTS OF ASCHOOL BASED

I N T E R V E N T I O N P R O G R A MAgainst this background, it is ap-propriate to describe briefly the ef-fects of the intervention program thatI developed and evaluated in con-

nection with a nationwide campaigagainst bully-vict im problems Norwegian schools.Fvatuation of the effects of the intervention program was based odata from approximately 2,500 stdents originally belonging to 11classes in Grades 4 through 7 (modages: 11-14) in 42 primary ansecondary/junior high schools Bergen,Norway. The subjects of thstudy were follow ed over a period 2.5 years. Because it was not possble to use a strictly experimentsetup, a quasi-experimental desig(usually called a selection cohordesign) was chosen , contrasting agequivalent groups who had or hanot been exposed to the interventioprogram.^The main findings of the analysecan be sum marized as f ^ ^ There were marked reductionsby 50% or morein bully-victiproblems for the periods studiewith 8 and 20 months of intervet ion, respectively. By and largthe results applied to both boand girls, and to students from agrades studied. There were also clear reduc tioir general antisocial behaviosuch as vandalism, fighting, pfering,drunkenness, and truanc Various aspects of the social cmate of the classroom registeremarked improvement: improveorder and discipline, more potive social relationships, and more positive attitude to schoowork and the school. At the samt ime,there was an increase in st

dent satisfaction with school lif The intervention program not onaffected already existing victimization problem s; it also had a pmary preven tive effect in that it rduced considerably the numb(and percentage) of new victimAfter a detailed analysis of thquality of the data and possible aternative interpretations of the f inings,1 conclud ed that it was very ficult to explain the results obtain


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s a consequence of (a) und errepo rt-

inly a consequence of Self-

The reported effects of the inter-

anti-s have been relatively

lts is accentuated by the fact thatence of violenc e and other

stance, various forms of officiallyregistered cr im ina l i ty, includ ingcriminal violence, have increasedby 300% to 60 0% since the 1950s or1960s. Similar changes have oc-curred in most Western, industrial-ized societies, including the UnitedStates,

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The intervention program is builton a limited set of key principles de-rived chiefly from research on thedevelopment and modif ication ofthe implicated problem behaviors,in particular, aggressive behavior. Itis thus important to try to create aschool (and, ideally, also a home)env i ronmen t cha rac te r i zed bywarmth, positive interest, and in-volvement f rom adul ts, on onehand, and firm limits to unaccept-able behavior, on the other. Also,when limits and rules are violated,nonhostile, nonphysical sanctionsshould be applied consistently. Im-plied in the latter two principles isalso a certain degree of monitoringand surveillance of the students' ac-tivities in and out of school." Ei-nally, adults both at school and athome should act as authorities, atleast in some respects.

Table 1. Overview of the core intervention programGenera l p rerequis i tes4- 4- Aware ness and inv olv em ent on the part of adultsMeasures at the school level4- -H Que st ionna ire survey4- -t- Scho ol con feren ce day+ 4- Better sup ervis ion du ring recess and lunc h t im e+ Format ion o f coo rd ina t ing group+ Me eti ng betw een staff and parents (PTA mee ting)Measures at the class level+ 4- Class rules against bu l ly ing+ 4- Regular class meeting s wi th studentsMeasures a t the ind iv idua l leve l-F + Serious ta lks w ith bul l ie s and vic t im s+ + Serious talks w ith parents of involved students+ Teacher and parent use of imag inationNote. + + indicates a core com pun cnt; + indicates a highly desirable compone nt.

These principles have been trans-lated into a number of specific mea-sures to be implemented at theschool, class, and individual levels.Table 1 lists the core componentsthat are considered, on the basis ostatistical analyses and experiencewith the program, to be particularlyimportant.'^With regard to implementationand execut ion , the program ismainly based on utilization of theexisting social environment: teachers and other school personnel, students, and parents. Non-mentahealth professionals thus play a major role in the desired restructuringof the social environment. Expertssuch as school psychologists, counselors, and social workers serve important functions planning and coordinating, counseling teachers andparents (groups), and handling relatively serious cases.

Possible reasons for the e ffectiveness of this nontraditional intervention approach have been discussedin some deta i l . ' ' ' They inc ludechanges in the opportunity and reward structures for b ullyin g behavio(resulting in fewer opp ortunities andrewards for bullying). Also, bullyvictim problems can be an excellenentry point for dealing with a varietof problems that plague today'schools. Furthermore, one can viewthe program from the perspective op lanned organ iza t iona l chang(with quite specific goals) and in thiway link it with the current livelwork on school effectiveness andschool improvement.

This antibullying program is nowin use or in the process of being implemented in a considerable num beof schools in Europe and NortAmerica. Though there have so fabeen few research-based attempts tevaluate the effects of the programunsystematic information and reports indicate that the general approach is we ll received by the adultin the school society and that thprogram (with or without culturaadaptations or additions of culture


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Bullying Olweus 95