This article reports on the authors’ meta-analytic review aimed at determining the impact of school-based cyberbullying preventions on cyber-bystander intervention among K-12 students.
Cyberbullying among youth is an emerging public health concern that has a wide array of deleterious outcomes. The current meta-analytic review synthesized school-based cyberbullying prevention programs’ impact on promoting cyber-bystander intervention among K-12 students. As a result of exhaustive searches and a thorough screening procedure, the authors identified a total of nine studies as eligible. Meta-analytic synthesis of the nine studies involving 35 effect sizes demonstrated that overall, the treatment effect was not statistically significant. Findings of the moderator analyses suggest that incorporating an empathy activation component in the prevention program was associated with better program effectiveness in promoting cyber-bystander intervention. Further, older age was found to be associated with better program outcomes. Findings of the current meta-analysis provide important insight for developing cyberbullying prevention programs that promote cyber-bystander intervention. Publisher Abstract Provided