6 Lessons From Our #KindnessChat

In celebration of Random Acts of Kindness Week, Born This Way Foundation hosted a Twitter chat this week with our President and co-founder, Cynthia Germanotta (@momgerm), and Dr. David Hamilton (@DrDRHamilton), an authority on kindness and its many benefits. In case you missed it, here are a few highlights!

Thank you to Dr. Hamilton, Cynthia, and all of you for sharing your experiences and knowledge on the power of kindness. As Dr. Hamilton writes in his guest post, being kind isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good for you!

Check out the whole #KindnessChat and stay tuned for more conversations on kindness, bravery, and the science behind both!

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, about one-third, or 17.9 million, of the nation’s Hispanic population is younger than 18, and about a quarter, or 14.6 million, of all Hispanics are Millennials (ages 18 to 33 in 2014). Despite these numbers, disparities in resources and treatment of mental health in Hispanic communities continue to prevail.

Although Latino youth are one of the fastest growing segments of our population, a parallel increase in knowledge about the different medical and mental health disorders that put Latino youth at risk for poor development, quality of life, and adult health is limited. Without efforts to understand how Latinos cope with mental disorders, what factors influence their access to mental health services, and how to deliver high quality mental health care to this population, Latinos will continue to suffer disproportionately from unmet mental health needs.

While discussions on the topic of mental health and well-being may seem like they have made their way into our everyday conversations, it remains a controversial issue in some communities, particularly the Hispanic community. Further, there is almost no literature on treatment preferences among minorities and their families, underscoring the importance of developing such a line of inquiry.

Despite these barriers, there are organizations and professionals in the field who are increasing our understanding of the existing barriers within this growing demographic. Among them is Born This Way Foundation’s Research Advisory Board, who has developed the Born Brave Experiences (BBE) survey.

The BBE is a series of studies focused on improving our understanding of the factors that influence youth engagement, mental health, and emotional well-being.

Now in its third year, studies conducted from the Born Brave Experiences survey have been presented locally at the University of Nebraska’s 2016 Bullying Prevention Conference and nationally at the American Psychological Association (APA) Convention (2014, 2015, and 2016), the 2016 White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, and the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Convention (2015 and 2017).

This past August, impacto: New York ran a story highlighting the release of the Born Brave Experiences Survey, v 3.0 – Spanish, the first large-scale survey to examine the experiences and mental health of children and young Spanish speakers worldwide. The goals of the Born Brave Experiences Survey, v3.0 are to:

Increase access to improve youth mental, physical, and emotional health;
Study how to increase personal kindness and bravery;
Identify strategies to increase social and emotional learning in classrooms and community agencies that focus on youth wellness;
Investigate the mechanisms for better access to mental and emotional health resources for youth and young adults by linking community health agencies, schools, and university counseling centers

Born This Way Foundation is firmly grounded in research and the publication of our studies can help alleviate and forge a path towards a more accepting and understanding Hispanic community.

Through the analyses of surveys and research on the mental and physical experiences of the youth and young adult Hispanic population, we can help create a kinder and braver world for everyone.

By collecting data on the subject and helping to remove the stigma we can shed some light on the mental health and wellness of Hispanic youth and young adults.

If you know any English or Spanish-speaking youth and young adults, between the ages of 13 – 25, who would is interested in creating a kinder and braver world, visit https://bornthisway.foundation/born-brave-experiences-survey/ and have them take the Born Brave Experiences Survey, v3.0!

We’re so excited that Zomby Gaga is finally here!

She’s fiercely brave and radically kind. In partnership with Monster High, Natali Germanotta, and Zombie Boy, we’re so proud to reveal Zomby Gaga. Based off of our co-founder Lady Gaga, Zomby Gaga represents compassion, acceptance and being yourself.

700x700-zg You can pre-order her in the United States here:

Target: http://www.target.com/p/-/A-51431124
Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/53372756
Yoyo: https://www.yoyo.com/p/monster-high-zomby-gaga-1340301
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HTAUQSO/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_t2_oWi-xb5E8N523

You can pre-order Zomby Gaga outside the U.S. at these locations:

We are excited to announce the selection of five leading academics and researchers to join the Born This Way Foundation’s Research Advisory Board. The incoming board members are experts in issues related to youth wellness and mental health, social and emotional learning, and bullying. The Board guides the Foundation’s research-related initiatives and helps to ensure all of the organization’s programming is grounded in the latest scientific understanding. Dr. Susan M. Swearer, PhD of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will continue to serve as Chair of the Research Advisory Board and Dr. Dewey Cornell, PhD will also return as a Board Member.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new additions to our Research Advisory Board,” said Cynthia Germanotta, President and Co-Founder of Born This Way Foundation. “Our organization is dedicated to empowering young people to live healthy, vibrant lives and we understand that doing so requires a firm basis in quality research. These men and women are leading experts in their fields whose collective decades of experience will help to guide Born This Way Foundation in accomplishing its mission of building a kinder, braver world.”

So, who are these new researchers? Here’s a little more information!

Dr. Susan M. Swearer, PhD is the Willa Cather Professor of Educational Psychology and a Professor of School Psychology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She is the co-director of the Bullying Research Network and Director of the Empowerment Initiative. For over the past decade, Dr. Swearer has developed and implemented a data-based decision-making model for responding to bullying among school-aged youth and has conducted staff trainings in elementary, middle, and high schools, and higher education settings with the goal of helping to establish cost-effective and data-based strategies to reduce bullying behaviors.

Dr. Marla R. Brassard, PhD, is Professor and Director of Clinical Training for the APA-Approved PhD School Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. For over 30 years her research and advocacy have focused on psychological maltreatment of children by parents, teachers, and peers – its assessment, the emotional/behavioral injuries that result, contextual factors that moderate the effect of maltreatment, prevention/treatment, and how schools and child welfare agencies, by embracing a child rights approach, can prevent violence and neglect before it occurs by valuing all children and creating environments and communities that promote their full development.

Dr. Dewey Cornell, PhD, is a forensic clinical psychologist and Professor of Education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1986 and has studied youth violence for nearly 30 years. As a researcher, Dr. Cornell has conducted studies of youth violence, psychopathology, giftedness, bullying, and school safety.

Dr. Shelley Hymel, PhD, is the Lando Professor in Social and Emotional Learning through which she has established a Masters program concentration as well as a teacher training specialization in social-emotional learning. She serves on research advisory boards for the interdisciplinary Human Early Learning Partnership at UBC, aimed at optimizing child development through research, the Life Synergy for Youth program of Calgary, AB, and the Committee for Children in Seattle, WA. She is team leader for PREVNet, a Canadian national organization for “Promoting Relationships and Eliminating Violence,” and on the Board of Directors for the BC Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre in Vancouver.

Dr. Michael Shore, Ph.D. is currently Vice President and Head of Global Consumer Insights and Foresights at Mattel, responsible for research on all Mattel brands including American Girl and Fisher Price. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Shore established Mattel’s global research infrastructure and has had responsibility for investigating kids’, parents’ and adults’ attitudes towards leisure time and play across all categories and platforms including entertainment, traditional toys, digital/video gaming, robotics, sports and emerging connected toy platforms. Dr. Shore is internationally recognized as one of the foremost industry experts on play behavior and toy preferences.

Dr. Brian H. Smith, PhD, is a Research Scientist at the Committee for Children where he translates and synthesizes research from a wide range of fields to inform the development and evaluation of school-based social emotional learning and bullying prevention programs. Dr. Smith received his doctorate from the School of Social Work at the University of Washington where his research focused on the science behind effective interventions to promote youth development and prevent youth problems. Prior to that he spent 9 years working as a counselor and social worker in K-12 schools and providing substance abuse and mental health counseling to teens.

Dr. Elliot Tebbe, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Psychology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests focus primarily on the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority individuals and communities. Dr. Tebbe is particularly interested in exploring the role of positive identity in increasing well-being and attenuating distress. In addition to his research activities, he has served in leadership roles for several organizations including the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns (CLGBTC) and is now President-Elect of Section IV (Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns) of Division 35 (Society of the Psychology of Women) of APA.

We are so excited to welcome these new members to the Born This Way Foundation team. We can’t wait to work with them to create a kinder, braver world. What research would you like to learn more about? Tell us in the comments.

How you react to a bullying situation can make a big difference, whether you’re directly involved, or you’ve just observed someone being bullied. Bystanders are those who watch bullying happen or hear about it and don’t take action. Actually, over 80% of students have been a bystander to bullying at school (Masters, 2016). As a bystander, you have the power to address the situation before it escalates.

Below are some tips on how to positively intervene when you see someone getting bullied:

Ask a trusted adult for help
Asking the bully to stop
Don’t give bullying an audience
Do not respond aggressively
Follow up with the person who was targeted

Recently published research shows that although comprehensive, school-wide programs including bystander components are effective in reducing bullying (Bradshaw, 2015; Polanin et al., 2012), many schools do not have the resources to implement time-intensive, multi-component programs (Midget, Doumas, Sears, Lundquist, Hausheer 2015). Here are some resources for students, parents, and educators on the topics of bullying and bystander intervention. It is important to consider the community of positive support that students and other adults can build to help prevent bullying. Currently, all 50 states in the US have laws governing bullying that require school personnel (administrators, teachers, and staff) to take action to intervene and protect students (Stopbullying.gov, 2015). That is why we encourage you to reach out to a trusted adult and ask for help.

It takes courage for someone to take action and intervene when they see or hear another person being bullied, but no matter how difficult it may be, research has found that schools and classrooms with greater rates of bystanders defending victims have lower rates of bullying (Jones, Mitchell, Turner 2015). So remember to be kind, brave, and empower your peers to make a positive influence in your schools and communities.

If you’d like to share your story about bullying intervention and the positive outcomes you’ve seen at your school we invite you to write to us here.

References:
Eyes on Bullying. (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://www.eyesonbullying.org/bystander.html

Jones, L. M., Mitchell, K. J., & Turner, H. A. (2015, August 28). Victim Reports of Bystander Reactions to In-Person and Online Peer Harassment: A National Survey of Adolescents. Retrieved from http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/jones-bystander.pdf

Masters, Lyndsay, “Should I Stand By or Stand Up? Differences in Bullying Bystander Decision Making” (2016). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. Paper 3657. http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3657

Midget, A., Doumas, D., Sears, D., Lundquist, A., & Hausheer, R. (2015). A Bystander Bullying Psychoeducation Program With Middle School Students: A Preliminary Report. The Professional Counselor, 5(4), 486-500. Retrieved from
http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Pages_486-500.pdf

ReachOut.com. (n.d.). Retrieved August 09, 2016, from http://us.reachout.com/facts/factsheet/bystanders-role-in-bullying

Should I Stand By or Stand Up? Differences in Bullying Bystander Decision Making. (n.d.). Retrieved August 01, 2016, from http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/3657/

MANAGE YOUR COOKIE PREFERENCES

NECESSARY COOKIES

ANALYTICS COOKIES

MARKETING COOKIES

6 Lessons From Our #KindnessChat