The KiVa Program

Initiative Description: The KiVa program, an anti-bullying intervention that includes teacher professional development, classroom curriculum for students with virtual instructional materials, and KiVa teams who follow up with bullying incidents in each school. Compared to other school-wide antibullying programs, KiVa is unique in that it offers professional training with manualized materials, concrete instructional activities for students to practice supporting victimized peers, in addition to enhancing the ways in which bullying incidents are intervened with by teachers.

Study Results: The KiVa program was particularly effective in facilitating perceptions of a caring school climate among students who were most victimized before the intervention. The intervention effects on depression and self-esteem were strongest only among the most victimized sixth graders.

References: Juvonen, J., Schacter, H. L., Sainio, M., & Salmivalli, C. (2016). Can a school-wide bullying prevention program improve the plight of victims? Evidence for risk intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(4), 334–344. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000078.

Level of Evidence: Very Good