The Effect of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Based Cyberbullying Prevention Program

Abstract

A school-based program of cognitive behavioral therapy was evaluated in a randomized control study of 158 secondary school students ages 12-14 years. The program was delivered for 40 minutes, for 5 weeks. Students completed questionnaires assessing their's cyber bullying behaviours and cognitions immediately before and following the 5-week period. Experimental and control groups were compared with t-test, intra-group comparisons were performed by covariance analysis. Additionally, focus group interviews were conducted with 12 students in the experimental group and the effectiveness of the psychoeducation program was evaluated in depth. It has been concluded that the cognitive behavioral cyberbullying prevention program had a positive effect on cyberbullying behaviors. Additionally qualitative data showed that prevention program reached its aim to cope with cyberbullying. For future works, it is recommended to disseminate prevention programs for a more effective fight against cyberbullying and to include other parties such as families and schools into such programs.