A Meta-Analysis on Effects of Parenting Programs on Bullying Prevention

Abstract

Bullying is a serious public health concern across the globe. While there are a number of bullying interventions with parental components, limited efforts have been made to synthesize the impacts of parenting programs on bullying prevention. This meta-analysis aimed to review and examine parenting programs on bullying reduction that involving both school-based and home visiting anti-bullying programs. The overall effect size supported a significant outcome on bullying reduction ( d = .640, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.239, 1.041]). Results of this meta-analysis reported that participants in the parenting programs scored significantly lower on both bullying and victimization. Data from the randomized controlled trials and the pre- and posttest design studies showed evidence of highly significant effects of parenting interventions on bullying reduction. Child- and parent-related factors including parenting style, children’s empathy, and parent–child interaction about bullying were found to be significantly related to the effectiveness of intervention programs. This study provides evidence to enhance policy and practice for effectively enabling parent involvement in bullying behavior reduction and to increase parent–children communication about bullying as well as parenting skills. Future researchers and practitioners may explore more about the impact of school–family partnerships and their reliance on each other to help reduce bullying.