NCT07372456

Nurse-Led Social Emotional Learning Program for Reducing Bullying, Victimization and Bystander Behaviors in Adolescents

The Effect of Nurse-Led Social Emotional Learning Program on Adolescents' Bullying, Victimization, and Bystander Behaviors

• Status: Active Not Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 210 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Marmara University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 11 Years – 14 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the effect of a nurse-led social emotional learning (SEL) program on bullying, victimization, and bystander behaviors among adolescents. The study will be conducted in two public middle schools in Istanbul, Türkiye, with students in grades 6-8. Participants in the intervention group will receive structured SEL sessions designed to enhance emotional regulation, empathy, and problem-solving skills, while the control group will continue with routine education. Outcomes will be measured using validated scales at baseline, three months, and six months after the intervention.

Detailed description

School violence is observed at all levels of education, but it is particularly prominent during middle school, which coincides with early adolescence. While violence tends to increase in primary school and decrease in higher grades of high school, no significant differences are observed between grade levels in middle school. Bullying has multiple negative consequences: for perpetrators, it is associated with suicide, weapon carrying, substance use disorders, and a tendency toward violence and criminal behavior in adulthood; for victims, it is linked to low self-esteem, anxiety disorders, and suicide. Due to these multifaceted negative effects, bullying prevention programs must be implemented as public health interventions. This study aims to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led, social emotional learning (SEL)-based education program on bullying, victimization, and bystander behaviors among adolescents attending grades 6, 7, and 8 in middle schools. Unlike many previous studies, this program not only seeks to reduce bullying and victimization but also aims to enhance bystander intervention. Furthermore, the intervention will be uniquely delivered by a nurse with a focus on fostering social emotional skills.This randomized controlled trial will be conducted between October 2025 and June 2026 in two public middle schools located in the Ümraniye district of Istanbul, Türkiye. The study will follow a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test design with intervention and control groups. Randomization will be applied to ensure comparability, and participants with similar pre-test characteristics will be assigned to either group. The intervention group will receive the SEL-based training program, while the control group will continue with routine education. Post-tests will be conducted three months after the intervention, and follow-up assessments will be carried out at six months. Data will be collected in classrooms through face-to-face self-report surveys. Instruments include the Personal Information Form, Bullying Victimization Self-Efficacy Scale, Bullying and Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents, Bystander Intervention in Bullying Scale, and Social Emotional Learning Skills Scale.Data entry will be performed electronically, and statistical analyses will be conducted using SPSS version 26. Tests appropriate for normal distribution will be used. A significance level of p \< 0.05 will be considered statistically significant.

Conditions

• Bullying Victimization
• School Bullying
• School Health
• School Based Intervention

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Nurse-Led Social Emotional Learning-Based Education Program	The Social Emotional Learning-Based Education Program will be implemented in the intervention group once a week for six weeks. The program was developed based on the principles of social emotional learning. Each week addresses one of the five core components of social emotional learning: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. The education will be delivered using various instructional methods, including lectures, problem-solving, question-and-answer, group discussions, case studies, scenario-based learning, gamification, and brainstorming. A range of audio-visual materials will be utilized, such as computers, projectors, presentation screens, speakers, remote controls, posters, brochures, videos, colored papers, educational booklets, and magazines. Additionally, scenarios prepared for the education program have been transformed into animations, and a dedicated website has been developed to support the intervention.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-06
• Primary completion: 2026-03-16
• Completion: 2026-06-08
• First posted: 2026-01-28
• Last updated: 2026-01-28

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)