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Publication #FAR1204

 

Adolescent Bullying and Family Therapy1

Kate Fogarty2

Figure 1. 
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As much as parents like to think that bullying is something that's outgrown in childhood, unfortunately it's actually on the increase in adolescence. There are various individual and school-based approaches to dealing with bullying, but a new intervention that you might find surprising is none other than family therapy.

Dr. Marius Nickel and his colleagues conducted research on bullying adolescent males being treated in family therapy and a comparison group who did not receive any therapy. The therapy emphasizes family communication, family rules, and examining family dynamics that contribute to aggressive behavior. They found that six months of outpatient family therapy significantly reduced the boys' bullying behavior and their expression of anger as compared to the boys who did not receive family therapy. Additionally, the boys who received family therapy lessened their smoking, drug use, binge drinking, unsafe sexual behaviors, and excessive reliance on the media. The boys also became more accepting of others, less likely to try to change or control others, and had fewer interpersonal problems than they did before receiving family therapy. Moreover, the boys' own views of their overall health, social functioning, energy levels, and mental health improved significantly after receiving family therapy (Nickel et al., 2005).

From this research we find that teen males who bully have a lot more problems than just anger to work on, yet can make significant positive changes in their lives with family therapy.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/433.mp3

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Reference

Nickel, M.K., Krawczyk, J., Nickel, C., Forthuber, P., Kettler, C., Leiberich, P., Muehlbacher, M., Tritt, K., Mitterlehner, F.O., Lahmann, C., Rother, W.K., and Loew, T.H. (2005). Anger, interpersonal relationships, and health-related quality of life in bullying boys who are treated with outpatient family therapy: A randomized, prospective controlled trial with 1 year of follow-up. Pediatrics, 116, e247-e254.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR1204, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 433 in January 2007. Published on EDIS August 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Kate Fogarty, assistant professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.