Anti-bullying laws effective if implemented correctly

A new study from the JAMA Pediatrics shows that some state laws against bullying and cyberbullying have significantly lowered instances among teenagers across the country, more so when these laws comply with the guidelines set by the US Department of Education, NPR reports.

Mark Hatzenbuehler, lead author of the study and an associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, and his team studied over 60,000 high school students from 25 states, and found that if the state's anti-bullying laws have at least one out of the 16 key components of the Department of Education, the students were 24 percent less likely to fall victims to bullying and 20 percent less likely to be cyberbullied.

"This is the largest and most comprehensive evaluation documenting the effectiveness of anti-bullying laws in reducing high school students' risk of being bullied," said Hatzenbuehler. "This is the first study to indicate that these laws are working."

CBS News reports that based on a 2013 CDC survey, 20 percent of high school students report a bullying incident within school premises in the last year, and 15 percent of students claim to have fallen victim to cyberbullying. This new study helps legislators create more effective laws based on the three components that researchers found were linked to a decrease in bullying and cyberbullying. These factors were: a clear definition on what constitutes bullying, a description o where and when the school has the authority to take action against bullying, and a requirement that schools develop nd implement their own policies on a timeline.

"One of the things we really need to understand is which specific components and in which combination are most effective," Hatzenbuehler explained. He also said that future research will explore the reasons why such factors were more successful in implementing rules against bullying.

Hatzenbuehler said, "We don't know if it's more effective to have a definition that's more expansive and covers all forms of bullying, or if the legislation is more effective if it targets specific forms of bullying. We need to go back now and look at the laws in more detail to tease apart which are the most effective components and which combinations."

"[Laws] can be more or less effective depending on how strong implementation is," Hatzenbuehler commented. "And so we need a lot more research to understand both facilitators but also barriers to the implementation of anti-bullying laws."

Rates of bullying across the nation varied, as the study showed an average of 20 percent, as Alabama had a low of 14 percent, and South Dakota had a high of 27 percent. Cyberbullying rates were at an average of 16 percent, with 12 percent reported in Alabama, and 20 percent in South Dakota.