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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04509531

Building Resilience in Cyberbullying Victims

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a wise intervention based on self-affirmation (SA) and Implicit Theories of Personality (ITP) building resilience in victims. Half of the participants will receive the experimental intervention, while the other half will receive a control intervention.

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Key information

Conditions

Cyberbullying Aggression Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Bullying Depression Eating Disorders Feeding and Eating Disorders Harassment, Non-Sexual Mental Disorders Non Suicidal Self Injury Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Self-Injurious Behavior Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms, Digestive Social Anxiety Social Behavior

Age range

11 year–19 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Deusto

Bilbao, Bizkaia, 48080, Spain

About this study

Bullying victimization can harm victims' mental health. Numerous studies have shown that, when an adolescent is a victim of cyberbullying, the risk of developing numerous mental health problems increases. Tackling the problem of cyberbullying victims' worsening mental health involves at least (1) reducing bullying itself, as this would reduce the prevalence of victimization, and (2) building resilience in the victims so that their mental health does not worsen. In recent years, a number of preventive interventions have been developed aimed at reducing cyberbullying but not so much focused on building resilience in the victims. Very recently, interest in scientific social psychology has grown due to a new approach to interventions, which have been called "wise interventions." This approach involves a set of rigorous techniques, based on theory and research, that address specific psychological processes to help people thrive in various life environments. The main objective of this project is to extend the previous findings to the mental health effects of online victimization in adolescents. In this project it will be designed and evaluated the effectiveness of an wise intervention aimed at (1) reducing online bullying, as this would reduce the prevalence of victimization; and (2) building resilience in victims so that the negative impact of victimization on their mental health will be reduced. The secondary objective will be to evaluate the moderating role of gender and the degree of development in the effects of the intervention.The study will involve the evaluation of the intervention in a sample of around 600 adolescents randomly allocated to experimental and control condition.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Spanish or Basque understanding
  • Permission by parents
  • Voluntarity

Exclusion criteria

-

Treatment and study plan

Wise Intervention (SA, ITP and resilience)

Behavioral

The intervention will be based on four general types of change strategies: (1) scientific knowledge, (2) generation of new meanings, (3) commitment through action, and (4) active reflection. This will include activities such as reading scientific information about social behavior and its role in people's well-being and mental health, the meaning of online victimization experiences and ways to react to them, experiences of other young people of their age, and self-persuasion exercises that involve an active commitment to change. Furthermore, it provides a number of strategies to manage everyday conflicts among adolescents. This intervention teaches them new ways to manage these difficulties through different actions (relaxation, distraction, sports, etc.). Finally, they are asked to plan the strategies they will use in the future in the face of some difficulties and to recommend some guidelines for another adolescent who may be going through a similar situation.

Standard preventive intervention

Behavioral

The control intervention will involve scientific information and education about internet risks such as sexting and grooming.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline scores of the Cyber Bullying Questionnaire (CBQ; Calvete et al., 2010; Gámez-Guadix, Villa-George, & Calvete, 2014)

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported levels of perpetration (9 items) and victimization (9 items) of peer cyber aggression. Each item is scored 0-4 (0 = never; 4 = almost every week).

  2. Change from baseline scores of the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM; Lloyd, Kelley & Hope, 1997)

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported levels of Non-Suicidal Self-Harm (NSSH). The 6 most representative items will be used. Each item is scored 0-4 (0 = 0 times; 4 = > 11 times).

  3. Change from baseline scores of the reduced version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D; Rueda-Jaimes et al., 2009).

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported symptoms of depression through 10 items, with a four-point response scale ranging from 0 (practically never) to 3 (almost all the time).

  4. Change from baseline scores of the reduced Spanish version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A; La Greca & Lopez, 1998; Nelemans et al., 2019)

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported symptomatology of social anxiety through 12 items, with a five-point response scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (all the time).

  5. Change from baseline scores of the reduced version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT; Garner & Garfinkel, 1979; EAT-8, Richter, Strauss, Braehler, Altmann & Berger, 2016)

    Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported symptomatology associated with eating disorders through 8 items, with a six-point response scale ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (always).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change from baseline scores of Entity and incremental theories (Levy, Stroessner, & Dweck, 1998).

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 hour, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Entity and incremental theories will be evaluated using eight items adapted to the situations of bullying in schools. Items are rated on a six-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).

  2. Change from baseline scores of attitude towards cyberbullying measure

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 hour, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported ad hoc measures developed by the research team of the attitude towards cyberbullying. The participants will classify one situation of cyberbullying through adjectives using the semantic differential technique with a response range of 7 points.

  3. Change from baseline scores of attitude towards different courses of action measure

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 hour, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported ad hoc measures developed by the research team of the attitude towards different courses of action when the adolescent witnesses cyberbullying. The participants will rate four different ways to react to cyberbullying through semantic differential items.

  4. Change from baseline scores of the anticipation of reactions and behaviors measure

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 hour, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported ad hoc measures developed by the research team of the anticipation of reactions and behaviors when the adolescent is a witness. The participants will answer seven items on a five-point response scale ranging from 0 (totally disagree) to 3 (totally agree).

  5. Change from baseline scores of the intention to use different strategies when the adolescent is exposed to diverse stressors

    Time frame: Baseline, 1 hour, 3 months, and 6 months.

    Self reported ad hoc measures developed by the research team of the intention to use different strategies when the adolescent is exposed to diverse stressors, participants will complete six items on a four-point response scale ranging from 0 (never or almost never) to 3 (always or almost always).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Deusto

Other

Collaborators

  • Fundación Alicia Koplowitz

Registry information

Official study title

Development of Resilience Against Cyberbullying Victimization

Acronym: Resilience

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2021
First posted
Aug 12, 2020
Registry last updated
Sep 28, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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