Middle School Teacher Module for a Brief Bullying Intervention Program

Development, Acceptability, and Short-Term Outcomes of a Teacher Module for a Brief, Bullying Bystander Intervention for Middle School Students in Rural, Low-Income Communities

This study evaluates the feasibility and short-term outcomes of a teacher training designed as a companion module to a bullying bystander intervention (STAC) for middle school students in rural communities. The aim of this project is to provide a brief, low-cost intervention that can be easily disseminated as part of a school-based bullying prevention program to address this important public health problem.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bullying
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: STAC Teacher Module

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 18
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Idaho
    • Boise, Idaho, United States, 83725
      • Boise State Univerity

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being a teacher of an adolescent enrolled in grades 6, 7, or 8 in a participating middle school in Idaho.
• Speaks and reads English.
• Consents to participate.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Speaks and reads only a language other than English.
• Does not consent for participation.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: STAC Teacher Module	Behavioral: STAC Teacher Module; The STAC Teacher Module is a 30-minute presentation that includes normative feedback, didactic information, a review of the student STAC strategies and corresponding strategies teachers can use to support students who act as defenders, and information about "perceptions vs. facts" about bullying.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Knowledge and Confidence to Support Defenders	Teacher-Advocates Pre- and Post-Scale (TAPPS) Knowledge and confidence to support defenders was measured using the TAPPS. The TAPPS is an 11 item survey that measures knowledge of buying behaviors, knowledge of how to support students using the STAC strategies, and confidence supporting students who intervene in bullying situations. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Totally Disagree) to 4 (Totally Agree) and were summed to compute a total scale score. Minimum =11; Maximum = 44 Higher scores are better outcomes	pre-training (baseline); immediate post-training (50 minutes)
Confidence Managing Bullying	Teacher's Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire Confidence about managing bullying was measured using the Teacher's Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire. This questionnaire is a 22 item survey. The 3-item Confidence in Managing Bullying Subscale was used. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree) and are summed to compute a total scale score. Minimum = 3; Maximum = 15 Higher scores are better outcomes	pre-training (baseline); immediate post-training (50 minutes)
Comfort Managing Bullying	National Education Association Bullying Survey Comfort with managing bullying was measured using items from the National Education Association Bullying Survey. Participants were asked "How comfortable would the participant feel intervening when the participant sees the following bullying behaviors?" followed by five types of bullying (a) Physical, (b) Verbal, (c) Relational, (d) Cyberbullying , and (e) Sexting. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Very Uncomfortable) to 5 (Very Comfortable) and are summed to compute a total scale score. Minimum = 5; Maximum = 25 Higher scores are better outcomes	pre-training (baseline); immediate post-training (50 minutes)
Bullying Self-Efficacy	Bullying Self-Efficacy Teachers' self-efficacy in handling bullying situations was measured by two items from the National Education Association Bullying Survey. The items are rated on a 4-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree) and are summed to compute a total scale score. Minimum = 2; Maximum = 8 Higher scores are better outcomes	pre-training (baseline); immediate post-training (50 minutes)
Number of Participants Reporting a Score of 4 or 5 on Intention to Use Teacher STAC Strategies	The intention to use Teacher STAC strategies was measured using an adapted version of the Use of STAC Strategies for students. Items were adapted from the student version to be appropriate for teachers. The 4-item measures asks teachers "How likely the participant is to support students using these strategies to intervene in bullying in the future?: a) Stealing the Show - support students using humor or distraction to get the attention away from the bullying situation, b) Turning it Over - support a student who reported bullying to the participant or supporting students to report to a principal or School Resource Officer (SRO), c) Accompanying Others - support students who reach out to the student who was the target of bullying, or d) Coaching Compassion - support students who help the student who bullied develop empathy for the target." Items are rated on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Very Unlikely) to 5 (Very Likely).	immediate post-training (50 minutes)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of Participants Reporting a Score of 3 or 4 on Acceptability and Relevance of the Teacher STAC Training	Program acceptability (e.g., how easy the program is to understand, utility of the program, program characteristics including interesting content and relevance of information presented, participant learning, and interest in recommending program to others) was assessed using a social validity survey composed of 8 items. Items were ranked on a 4-point scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 4 (Strongly Agree).	immediate post-training (50 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Boise State University
• Collaborators: Mental Research Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 21, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 24, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): January 24, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 22, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 30, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 1, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 26, 2024
• Last Verified: September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Aggression; Bullying
• Other Study ID Numbers: 101-SB20-174

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No