TY - JOUR
T1 - Does Implementation Matter? Associations Between Implementation of Maine's Anti- Bullying Law and Bullying Victimization Among High School Youth
AU - Ramirez, Marizen R.
AU - Seedorff, Jacob
AU - Cavanaugh, Joseph E.
AU - Ryan, Andrew
AU - Xiong, Bao Nhia
AU - Hatzenbuehler, Mark L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Purpose: To characterize the relationship between implementation of an antibullying law and bullying rates among high school youth. Methods: School staff (administrators, counselors, and teachers) from public high schools in Maine completed a survey assessing: (1) the frequency with which they implemented 17 components of their district's antibullying policy as mandated by state law; and (2) confidence in implementing the law. Their responses were linked to data on bullying victimization among high school respondents to the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, which created a population-based dataset of 84 high schools with 29,818 student responses. Results: Students in schools where administrators (adjusted odds ratio = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.97) and counselors (adjusted odds ratio = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.92) reported implementing more mandated components of the law experienced notable reductions in the odds of bullying, controlling for student-level characteristics (sex, race, grade) and for school-level bullying rates assessed prior to the passage of the law. With respect to specific implementation components, bullying was most consistently reduced in schools where staff reported increased referrals for counseling and other supports for targets of bullying and in schools where counselors and teachers were interviewed as part of bullying investigations. Students in schools where teachers reported increased confidence in implementing the antibullying law also had reduced odds of bullying. Discussion: These data provide some of the first evidence that the efficacy of a state's antibullying law depends in part on the extent to which school personnel implement the law.
AB - Purpose: To characterize the relationship between implementation of an antibullying law and bullying rates among high school youth. Methods: School staff (administrators, counselors, and teachers) from public high schools in Maine completed a survey assessing: (1) the frequency with which they implemented 17 components of their district's antibullying policy as mandated by state law; and (2) confidence in implementing the law. Their responses were linked to data on bullying victimization among high school respondents to the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey, which created a population-based dataset of 84 high schools with 29,818 student responses. Results: Students in schools where administrators (adjusted odds ratio = 0.93; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.97) and counselors (adjusted odds ratio = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.92) reported implementing more mandated components of the law experienced notable reductions in the odds of bullying, controlling for student-level characteristics (sex, race, grade) and for school-level bullying rates assessed prior to the passage of the law. With respect to specific implementation components, bullying was most consistently reduced in schools where staff reported increased referrals for counseling and other supports for targets of bullying and in schools where counselors and teachers were interviewed as part of bullying investigations. Students in schools where teachers reported increased confidence in implementing the antibullying law also had reduced odds of bullying. Discussion: These data provide some of the first evidence that the efficacy of a state's antibullying law depends in part on the extent to which school personnel implement the law.
KW - Anti-Bullying
KW - Anti-Bullying laws
KW - Policy implementation
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.08.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.08.011
M3 - Article
C2 - 37804295
AN - SCOPUS:85173261621
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 74
SP - 161
EP - 168
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 1
ER -