Instead of asking why kids bully, new research focuses on
treatment, and seeks to empower victims with ways to cope with
peer aggression Elementary school is rough. There's no textbook
for dealing with bullies, so children who are suddenly immersed
in peer groups have to figure out how to handle difficult people
on their own. And though many schools have anti-bullying
programs in place, "most of them are not based on research or
have not been tested for effectiveness," says child psychologist
Jennifer Connor-Smith. Bullying research, it seems, has focused
more on understanding aggressors, not the aggrieved. Given how
pervasive and brutal bullying is, however, it's hard to justify
a prevention-heavy approach to research that neglects treatment.
A new study in the journal Child Development aims to correct
this imbalance. Instead of asking why bullies bully, scientists
led by University of Illinois psychology professor Karen D.
Rudolph are beefing up the coping side of bullying research by
looking into why victi