So you want to design an anti-bullying program? Recommendations for evaluating the potential of discrete ingredients and improving program cost-effectiveness

The field of anti-bullying research has experienced substantial growth over the past three decades, marked by the development of numerous programs aimed at preventing bullying in schools. However, the effectiveness of these interventions has varied widely, resulting in only modest reductions in bullying. The complexity of multi-ingredient programs, coupled with challenges in evaluation and implementation, has contributed to mixed and inconclusive results. Traditionally, researchers develop multi-ingredient anti-bullying programs and then evaluate their effectiveness through intervention studies. A novel approach is proposed, suggesting that the evaluation of discrete ingredients should precede program development to create the most cost effective programs. This paper outlines methodological recommendations aimed at addressing four major shortcomings in intervention studies that impede our understanding of both bullying and the essential ingredients of effective programs: (1) the lack of testing of mechanisms of change, (2) the evaluation of multi-ingredient programs as whole packages, (3) the failure to link outcomes to implementation, and (4) the failure to account for differential effects on different student profiles. By addressing these four major limitations, researchers can comprehensively assess the potential of discrete ingredients and, ultimately, develop or improve multi-ingredient programs with an optimal cost-effectiveness ratio. • Four key shortcomings limit progress in anti-bullying intervention research. • Evaluation of discrete ingredients should precede anti-bullying program development. • Discrete ingredients and their mediators should be tested in isolation. • Effects should be tested under varying classroom implementation conditions. • Differential effects should be examined across different student profiles.