Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

All students are at risk of being bullied or cyberbullied. One group of students that may be more at risk of bully victimization is students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Much of the research on bullying and cyberbullying has focused on prevalence rates, students effectiveness in identifying bullying, and protective factors to reduce the likelihood of bullying. Although Indiana law mandates that students receive research-based instruction in bullying prevention each year, there is limited discussion across the literature of how instruction is provided to students. The purpose of this study was to collect qualitative information surrounding participants experiences with bullying and cyberbullying in both the neurotypical and ASD populations, and their experiences with observing or delivering anti-bullying instruction. Participants were 10 school staff members employed through a school district in southern Indiana, or the special education cooperative that services the district. Participants were able to provide adequate definitions of bullying and cyberbullying. Prevention and intervention efforts and universally designed instruction strategies included building relationships with students and families, using social skills training and modeling techniques, employing an overall building mission for addressing bullying, and incorporating social emotional learning (SEL) and related practices across the whole school. Last, participants were mixed in reporting confidence levels when working with students who identified as bully victims and perpetrators. When focusing specifically on students with ASD, participants generally expressed the need for help, training and additional resources prior to addressing bullying situations with the students.

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