Évaluation de l’efficacité de la méthode systémique et stratégique de Palo Alto pour intervenir dans les situations de harcèlement scolaire : analyse de cas

The aim of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Palo Alto systemic and strategic method for intervening in situations of bullying. To assess the effectiveness of this method, we decided to take a comparison group including interventions regularly mobilised by schools and their support networks. We collected testimonies from twelve pupils aged between 9 and 22 who had been bullied at school (M = 12.58, SD = 3.53). This small sample is representative of the difficulty of accessing this population and the small number of trained professionals in the field. To be able to compare and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention methods, two interviews were conducted with the student victim: a pre-test when the professional had yet to do anything to improve the student's situation, and a post-test three months after the end of the professional's intervention. We have used a complementary mixed methodology in which the qualitative results are intended to support the quantitative results. However, given our small sample, the quantitative analyses should be considered purely exploratory and descriptive. These analyses enabled us to statistically measure the effectiveness of the interventions using four concepts: feelings of victimisation, self-esteem, acceptance by peers, and degree of suffering. Our research showed that the Palo Alto systemic and strategic method was effective in stopping bullying in five out of six situations. In the sixth situation, the bullying decreased but did not stop completely. Our results showed that the Palo Alto systemic and strategic method had a significant effect on reducing perceived suffering, increasing acceptance of the young person by peers, and reducing feelings of victimisation compared with other methods regularly used by schools and their support networks. Regarding self-esteem, our data showed a significant increase for pupils benefiting from the other types of methods compared with pupils who received support using the Palo Alto systemic and strategic method. The aim of this article is not to provide data that can be generalised to the population as a whole. Nevertheless, we believe that this research will contribute to knowledge of this innovative approach and provide food for thought for future research on the subject.