Abstract
Studying moderators of the effects of anti-bullying universal interventions is essential to elucidate what works for whom and to tailor more intensive, selective, and indicated programs which meet the needs of non-responders. The present study investigated whether early adolescents’ temperament—effortful control (EC), negative emotionality (NE), and positive emotionality (PE)—moderates the effects of the KiVa anti-bullying program. The sample consisted of 13 schools, with 1051 sixth-grade early adolescents (mean age = 10.93; SD = 0.501), randomly assigned to the KiVa intervention (seven schools; n = 536) or to the control condition (six schools; n = 516). Adolescents reported bullying and victimization before the intervention (pre-test) and after (post-test). Temperament was assessed by a self-report pre-test. Findings showed that EC and NE moderated intervention effects on bullying, indicating that subgroups with high levels of EC, and with low and medium levels of NE were those who benefited most from the intervention. The low-EC subgroup showed a lower increase compared to the control condition, with a considerable effect size. Conversely, the high-NE subgroup did not show any positive effects compared to the control group. Regarding victimization, findings showed that early adolescents with high and medium levels of PE were the subgroups who benefited the most from the intervention, whereas the low-PE subgroup was the most resistant. The present study confirms the relevance of considering temperament as a moderator of intervention effects, since interventions tailored to early adolescents with specific traits might yield larger effects.
Highlights
Evidence-based research about anti-bullying interventions needs to move beyond basic questions related to anti-bullying intervention efficacy
The present study aimed to evaluate whether specific subgroups of early adolescents defined by their temperamental traits can be differently affected by a universal school-based anti-bullying program
The issue of variation in effectiveness based on subgroup membership is relevant for the development of the tiered framework in anti-bullying interventions. This model, including a universal, a selective, and an indicated tier [16], is essential for tailoring interventions according to the risk profile of subgroups of students. Starting from these considerations, the current study evaluates whether the impact of the KiVa anti-bullying program varied as a function of early adolescents’ temperament defined using the three superordinate dimensions: effortful control (EC), negative emotionality (NE), and positive emotionality (PE)
Summary
Evidence-based research about anti-bullying interventions needs to move beyond basic questions related to anti-bullying intervention efficacy. The mechanisms through which ameliorative effects may be exerted, the factors that alter the efficiency of the intervention within different subsamples, and the identification of those who are most likely to benefit from a given intervention are relevant research questions that need to be addressed. The modest effect size of reduction estimates found in studies on the efficacy of anti-bullying interventions, as well as the existing variability between studies and programs, suggests the need to pay more attention to potential moderators of the response to these interventions. The present study aimed to evaluate whether specific subgroups of early adolescents defined by their temperamental traits can be differently affected by a universal school-based anti-bullying program. Public Health 2019, 16, 388; doi:10.3390/ijerph16030388 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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