Effects of a Social and Emotional Competence Enhancement Program for Adolescents Who Bully: A Quasi-Experimental Design

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to develop a social and emotional competence enhancement (SECE) program as an intervention for adolescents who bully, and to investigate its effects on school bullying behavior and mental health.

Methods: A pre-posttest, 1-month follow-up nonequivalent control group quasi-experimental design was used. In total, 71 school bullies were included in the analysis.

Results: The effects of this program were significant with regard to group-by-time interaction effects on social competence, emotional regulation, empathy, and school bullying behavior at the 1-month follow-up.

Conclusions: The results indicate that the SECE program was effective at reducing school bullying behavior in adolescents who bully. School and community-based mental health professionals can provide feasible interventions that can be used in the short term to reduce school bullying behavior in adolescents who bully.