Research demonstrating the effectiveness of using canned bullying prevention programs to reduce the prevalence of bullying experienced by students is showing mixed results. The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) has been extensively investigated in Europe, and more recently, investigators began probing the effectiveness of the OBPP in the United States (Limber, Nation, Tracy, & Flerx, 2004; Olweus & Linder, 2010b). The researchers discovered significant differences between the intervention and comparison schools in such things as student reports of bullying other students, self-reported delinquency, vandalism, school misbehavior, and school administered sanctions. However, researchers also learned that there were no significant program effects for student's reports of being bullied. A study in Washington state revealed substantial program effects for relational and physical victimization among white students but not among students of other races/ethnic backgrounds (Olweus & Linder, 2010b).
Limber et al., (2018) discovered during a large-scale study in the United States, support for the effectiveness of OBPP, but in a lesser degree with minority students stating, "Nonetheless, the overall weaker program effects for Black and Hispanic students deserve careful attention. Scholars argue that there is a need to understand how students of different races and ethnicities understand, experience, and engage in bullying and the extent to which such students are receptive or non-receptive to particular prevention and intervention strategies" (p. 70) and Botvin et, al., (1995) state "Comparison of a culturally focused prevention approach to a more generic approach would address whether a culturally focused intervention is more effective and would be an important contribution to the literature” (p. 184).
The experienced staff at IINII take a different approach by using a revolutionary Design Thinking model crafted to create a personalized bullying prevention program customized to the unique values expressed in and around the school community delivered through the process of a restorative practice. The bullying prevention programs developed by IINII are guaranteed to significantly improve your students' self-efficacy and increase school connectedness resulting in happier and healthier children.
Self-efficacy is the central construct of Bandura's (1997) social cognitive theory and refers to the perceived ability to produce the desired action. Self-efficacy is more than telling ourselves that we can succeed; it is a firm conviction of competence that is based on our evaluation of various sources of information about our abilities (Bandura, 1986). A low self-efficacy during adolescences is linked to a multitude of mental health issues including depression (Muris, 2002), school phobia, low academic achievement and delinquent behaviors (Bandera, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1999). Some studies identified a strong connection between self-efficacy and positive mental and physical health outcomes (Maddux, 2002), and positive associations between social self-efficacy and anxiety and depression (Suldo & Shaffer, 2007).
