Effectiveness of digital game-based GISCC program on cyberbullying prevention among Chinese adolescents

Abstract

Background: The increasing use of social networking sites has increased the efficiency of social interactions but inevitably contributed to the risk of cyberbullying. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of offline intervention programs for cyberbullying, few have examined online interventions, especially in the Chinese context. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate an innovative Game-based Intervention for School- and Cyberbullying for Children (GISCC), which combines training on psychosocial and behavioral components with interactive role-play games. Participants and setting: A randomized trial method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the GISCC intervention, comprising 105 Chinese adolescents who were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 55) and control (n = 50) groups. Methods: Independent sample t-test, paired-samples t-test, ANCOVA, and MANCOVA were used to test the differences in the trained components before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed that the GISCC intervention significantly reduced cyberbullying behaviors (F = 37.50, p < 0.001), violence intentions (F = 4.95, p < 0.05), and mental health problems (F = 60.28, p < 0.001); and increased self-efficacy (F = 18.26, p < 0.001), and conflict resolution skills (F = 36.46, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study provided empirical evidence in the Chinese context for digital health intervention approaches for cyberbullying prevention. We also identified the essential components (empathy, self-efficacy, violence prevention, conflict resolution with families) for future research on developing effective digital intervention tools to reduce cyberbullying.