Has all the attention and effort that’s been lavished on bullying in the last few years had any effect at all? If it has, it’s on the victims, and while that’s nothing to dismiss, it’s disappointing. Research suggests that school bullying programs (which many students in this study liked and suggested) do more to influence the perceptions of the bullied than to change the bullying
behaviors. Some specific programs (like Steps to Respect) have had a stronger influence on elementary school students, but high school bullying seems stubbornly entrenched.