DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37228.v1
title: Wisconsin School Violence and Bullying Prevention Study, 2015-2017
title: Version 1

description: The Wisconsin School Violence and Bullying Prevention Study sought to understand the impact of comprehensive bullying prevention programs on outcomes related to violence, safety, and bullying rates. This study focused on 24 middle schools (grades 6 to 8) in Wisconsin. To examine the effectiveness of the school's current anti-bullying program, the Bullying Prevention Program Assessment tool (BPPAT) was completed at the end of the school year. The BPPAT focused on administrative policy and procedures geared towards students, faculty, parents, or administrators. This tool examined the following items: policy and procedures, program implementation, staff training, parental education and communication, student training, reporting systems, and continuous quality improvement (CQI). Students and faculty were given surveys to determine bullying rates and perceptions of school safety. The school safety survey was given to all students concerning their bullying victimization and perception of school safety. This survey contains the following demographic variables: age, sex, grade, and race. The verified bullying incident data contains incident reporting from faculty, which focused on the type of bullying and the demographics of the perpetrator and victim. After new bullying prevention programs were implemented, students were given the safety and bullying victimization survey which focused on perceptions of bullying and school safety. The number of bullying incidents, number of student victims and perpetrators, and the demographic characteristics of victims and perpetrators were retained in aggregate form for each school were submitted to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for analysis.
description: The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of comprehensive bullying prevention programs on school safety. For schools to be able to participate, they needed to have an inclusion criteria requirement of tier 1 Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). This requirement was to ensure that schools have made prior efforts towards addressing the climate of their schools.
description: Answers from questions included in commonly administered school climate surveys were anonymously collected and analyzed by the state education agency (SEA) of Wisconsin. As such, it was determined by SEA and the national institute of justice (NIJ) that a formal IRB process was unnecessary. Students were not required to complete the questionnaire, and their voluntary completion was stated on the survey. In addition, schools were free to institute their protocol of consent (opt-in vs. opt-out). During a four-week/20 school day period in the fall and spring semesters, schools were instructed to track and report data related to verified bullying incidents. For an incident to be included, it needed to match the public health definition of bullying (repeated, imbalance of power), involve a conversation between the victim and school staff, documentation of name(s) involved (victim and perpetrator), and the type of bullying involved. Schools were also encouraged to document the resolution or next steps, the number of incidents, the number of student victims and perpetrators, and the demographic characteristics of victims and perpetrators. These factors were recorded in aggregate form for each school and were submitted to the department of public instruction (DPI) for analysis. The student surveys had multiple ways to record their data including a standalone online youth risk behavior survey (OYRBS), taken in conjunction with a larger OYRBS survey, or through a survey monkey questionnaire that could be answered online or on paper.
description: Variables in the Bullying Prevention Program Assessment Tool Data include variables on anti-bullying strategies and tracking methods and the extent to which they were in place at the participant schools. Variables in the School Safety Survey Data include student responses to a survey covering demographic information and students' perceptions of and participation in bullying at their school, as well as summary variables. Variables in the Verified Bullying Incident Data include variables on the frequency and types of bullying incidents at participant schools, as well as demographic data about those involved in the incidents. Variables in the Safety and Bullying Victimization Data include further student survey responses regarding bullying victimization and perceptions.
description: Not Applicable.
description: Response Rates: Response rate from the school level was 100%. Response rate from individual schools used a benchmark of 70% of eligible students completing surveys.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None
description: The focus of the study was at the middle school level (grades 6 through 8) across 24 Wisconsin schools.
description: Datasets: DS0: Study-Level Files DS1: Bullying Prevention Program Assessment Tool Data DS2: School Safety Survey Data DS3: Verified Bullying Incident Data DS4: Safety and Bullying Victimization Data
description: Middle schools in Wisconsin that have anti-bullying programs incorporated into their school system.
description: mixed mode; web-based survey