The effectiveness of bullying prevention-associated interventions among children and adolescents

This umbrella review examined 30 meta-analyses involving 766 original studies of bullying prevention interventions for children and adolescents. Interventions were generally associated with improvements in bullying-related behaviours, attitudes and mental health. While music-based interventions showed the largest observed effects for reducing aggressive behaviour, school-based anti-bullying programs demonstrated the strongest evidence for improving attitudes that discourage bullying.

Why is this important?

• Bullying is a common form of violence affecting children and young people worldwide. The high prevalence and potential long-term impacts highlight the need for effective prevention strategies.
• Numerous bullying prevention interventions have been developed across family, school, healthcare and community settings. However, most previous reviews have focused on individual intervention types or specific outcomes. This makes it difficult to compare approaches and understand which interventions may be most effective.

What did they do?

• The authors conducted an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses examining bullying prevention interventions for children and adolescents. The sample included 30 meta-analyses that together included 766 original studies.
• The review examined 17 different intervention types, grouped into five broad categories: family-based, school-based, community-based, healthcare-based and collaborative interventions.
• Outcomes were grouped into three domains: behaviour change, attitude change and mental health outcomes.

What did they find?

• Music-based interventions showed the largest effect overall, particularly for reducing aggressive behaviour. Martial arts programs, parent-related interventions, digital health interventions and anti-aggression programs also demonstrated relatively large effects in some outcome areas.
• School-based anti-bullying interventions showed beneficial effects across multiple outcomes and demonstrated the strongest evidence for improving attitudes that discourage bullying.
• Most interventions focused on behaviour change, such as reducing bullying perpetration, victimisation or aggression. Fewer studies examined mental health or attitude outcomes.
• Although some interventions showed larger observed effects than others, the quality and certainty of evidence varied substantially across studies, and the authors caution against treating the findings as definitive rankings of intervention effectiveness.

What does this mean for practice?

• Practitioners should be aware that bullying prevention can be approached through a range of strategies across school, family, community and healthcare settings. Different interventions may be more effective for different outcomes and populations.
• School-based anti-bullying programs appear to have the strongest and most consistent evidence for improving attitudes that discourage bullying and may help foster a more positive school climate.
• Interventions that target broader social, emotional and relational factors – such as parent-related programs, digital health approaches and educational interventions – may have a role alongside school-based approaches in reducing bullying behaviours.

This summary is one of the child mental health research highlights for June 2026, prepared by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).