Bullying is a pervasive problem in schools worldwide and a relatively common problem among children and adolescents today. As a result of this, many schools have been looking at anti-bullying interventions. This research examined the effectiveness of the Solution Team intervention. The frequency of bullying on targeted students was studied in an attempt to discover whether this is an appropriate and effective intervention.

Solution Team is a new anti-bullying intervention developed and trademarked in 2007 by No Bully, a San Francisco based 501(c)(c)(3) non-profit corporation. It derives its inspiration from restorative justice approaches and is within the same family of peer-based interventions as the Pikas Method of Shared Concern (based in Sweden) and England’s no blame approach.

Five schools in the San Francisco Bay Area participated in this mixed-method quasi-experimental evaluation. The sample consisted of 32 students who reported being the targets of bullying and asked for a Solution Team. The students came from both public and private schools, were in grades K through eight and between the ages of 5 and 13.

Findings are based on pretest-posttest data collected using a standardized facilitator log sheet from adult facilitators at four assessment points during the project. The types and frequencies of the experience of being the target of bullying were assessed. The Solution Team facilitators were also asked to describe their opinions and observations of the intervention to gain a more complete view of the Solution Team effects and fidelity of implementation. Reports were collected from the adult Solution Team facilitators about the concrete actions taken in order to compare the actual content of the intervention to what had been planned and the fidelity of implementation.

The present study found the frequency of being targeted for bullying significantly decreased within 1 week of the intervention and remained lower for up to 3 months following the intervention. Facilitators’ reports concluded the intervention was successful and stated that they would use it again. Fidelity of implementation had no significant effect on the intervention’s successfulness.