Developing and Evaluating an Adolescent-Focused Mobile App to Combat Cyberbullying: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Previous studies revealed that cyberbullying is a common problem among adolescents and has severe effects on their mental health. Mobile-based digital tools in the fight against cyberbullying may provide self-help opportunities for adolescents. A self-help mobile application based on the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy perspective, gamification techniques, and psycho-education aspect and a face-to-face anti-cyberbullying program were developed in the present study. A randomized controlled trial was employed to compare the efficacy of the mobile app and the anti-cyberbullying program by including 75 adolescents in three conditions (i.e., 25 participants in the mobile app group, 25 in the anti-cyberbullying group, and 25 in the wait-list). The study's findings indicated that the mobile app and anti-cyberbullying program were effective in combating cyberbullying. There were no statistically significant differences between these two interventions. Moderator analyses also revealed that the effect of the interventions can be generalized across demographics (i.e., gender, age, grade level, and the internet usage) rather than depending on one subgroup. The present study suggests that self-help mobile-based interventions could serve as a non-stigmatizing, easily accessible, and preventive tool in the fight against cyberbullying.