Date of Graduation

12-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Cavell, Timothy A.

Committee Member

Bridges, Ana J.

Second Committee Member

Leen-Feldner, Ellen W.

Keywords

Psychology; Bullying; Case study; Peer victimization; School-based mentoring; Thematic analysis

Abstract

Lunch Buddy (LB) mentoring, a type of school-based mentoring, holds promise as a selective intervention for children who are chronically bullied (Elledge, Cavell, Ogle, & Newgent, 2010). This study expanded upon previous research (Elledge et al., 2010) by utilizing a case-study approach combining qualitative and quantitative methods to gain more evidence about the palatability of the intervention and to uncover possible mechanisms by which the intervention is working. Participants were four elementary school children in grades four and five who had been identified as bullied based on child and teacher reports. Quantitative data were collected at multiple points during the course of mentoring, and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders were conducted post-mentoring. Results supported the promise of LB mentoring for bullied children but also revealed outcomes that varied by assessment source and point of assessment. Thematic analysis supported the palatability of LB mentoring and identified factors that could potentially affect the process of mentoring.

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