Bullying: Fascinating Features and Intervention, with Prof. Alan Kazdin

At the Yale Presidential Inauguration Symposia on October 12th 2013, Alan Kazdin, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology at Yale University, presented a lecture entitled, "Bullying: Fascinating Features and Intervention".
Bullying among children and adolescents is not new, so why is it receiving attention now? Tragic cases of child suicide, parental interests in protecting their children, and findings that show the short- and long-term consequences of bullying on mental and physical health are among the key reasons. Moreover, we have learned that virtually all children in an environment where bullying is ongoing suffer in some way, so no one escapes the bully’s reach. This presentation highlights what we know about bullies, victims, and by-standers and what can be done to reduce bullying. Bullying is placed in broader contexts including findings from animal research, efforts to reduce aggression and harassment more generally, and national and international issues about the rights of children. Changing bullies is quite possible, but the effects will be limited without also attending to broader social influences that promote bullying and other types of violence and harassment.