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The Power of Attitude Inoculation
How parents can immunize their children against peer pressure and bullying
With the popularity of such television shows as 13 Reasons Why on Netflix, the topic of teen depression has seized the minds of parents — and for good reason: A recent study shows that the rate of major depression among teens (ages 12 to 17) increased 52% between 2005 and 2017, with as many as one in eight experiencing at least one depressive episode in the past 12 months. One explanation, of course, is the rise in cyberbullying, which is strongly linked to depression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers.
As these numbers have increased, parents and teachers have been struggling to insulate children from peer pressure and cyberbullying. Fights on the playground have given way to battle campaigns on social media. Taunts have become texts, tweets, and snaps. They’re omnipresent, and chances are most children will experience threats to their self-esteem as well as some form of bullying during their teenage years.
“You don’t deserve to live.”
“No one likes you.”
“You should just disappear.”
Experts on cyberbullying say that these messages affect mental health, and some teens eventually assimilate the verbal abuse into their self-image. How can parents and educators protect children against these attacks? Why can’t it be as simple as a vaccine to defend them against measles or polio?
Turns out, it might be.
There is an emerging field of research called attitude inoculation that has promising applications for parents and teens. The theory follows the model of vaccinations: A person’s attitude, belief, or self-esteem can be protected against future threats through exposure to a weakened version of that threat, similar to how vaccinations expose our bodies to attenuated viruses in order to build up antibodies that can fight off the real virus. In other words, a teen’s resilience to peer pressure and bullying could be strengthened and trained by gradual exposure to similar, weaker attacks in a safe environment.
Josh Compton, PhD, of Dartmouth College, is one of the leading researchers in the field of inoculation theory. “An inoculation message can…
