Coping with bullying: What answers does children’s literature provide?

Abstract

Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic tool for helping children deal with stressful events. Bullying and peer victimization is commonly experienced by children and has been associated with psychosocial maladjustment. However, research suggests that particular coping strategies may be more or less effective. As stories are one avenue through which children learn about and explore possible coping strategies, this study examined 73 storybooks aimed at children ages 4–11 for bullying type (verbal, physical, and relational), settings in which the bullying occurred and coping strategies used by fictional victims. Assessed coping strategies included nine categories and 26 specific strategies. Results indicated that the most commonly used coping strategy categories included both adaptive ( prosocial response, advice seeking, distancing) and maladaptive ( revenge-seeking) categories. The most frequently promoted coping strategies were bystander-intervention (16%), befriend-the-bully (15%), trick-the-bully (11%), scare-the bully-(10%), and verbal-confrontation (10%). Differences in the strategies presented across reading level of the books were also found. Results are discussed in light of current research on coping and bullying, and implications for clinicians and school staff conducting bibliotherapy to address bullying.