Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Aggression and Violent Behavior

Anti-bullying programs and Information and Communication

Technologies (ICTs): A systematic review
Annalaura Nocentini ⁎, Valentina Zambuto, Ersilia Menesini
Department of Educational Science and Psychology-University of Florence, Padiglione 26, Via San Salvi, 12, 50135 Firenze, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) constitute suitable tools for interventions with children
Received 30 March 2015 and adolescents promoting their emotional, psychological and social wellbeing. Recently, in the field of bullying
Accepted 13 May 2015 and cyberbullying prevention, some programs started to be implemented using the benefits offered by the virtual
Available online 22 May 2015
environments. The current paper aims to carry out a systematic review on anti-bullying ICT-mediated interven-
tion, analyzing the characteristics of the main programs and the evidence of their effectiveness. The review con-
Keywords:
Bullying
ducted on three databases (PsycINFO, Scopus and PubMed) yielded 32 full text papers finally evaluated. Overall,
Cyberbullying considering the enormous development of digital tools and the importance of this experience for young students,
Information and Communication Technologies the review underlines that ICT tools are generally under-used in prevention and intervention against bullying and
(ICT) cyberbullying (13 programs emerged from the search). In recent years some advances in this direction can be
Prevention found with the use of different ICTs (serious game, virtual reality, online platforms, internet activities, technolog-
Intervention ical solution). The need for scientific studies on the effectiveness of these virtual interventions is evident from this
Review review and necessary in order to assist practitioners, policy makers, and administrators in deciding which inter-
ventions can work or not and why.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction connectedness between individuals, groups, and organizations promot-

1.1. ICT interventions in schools
The great development that Information and Communication Tech-
nologies (ICTs) have had in the last years contributed to a cultural change
involving economic and industrial activities as well as social and relational
domains. Although the use of ICTs may present several risks (such as
cyberbullying, grooming, online child pornography), it also provides
several benefits apt to promote people's and children's wellbeing.
Following the recent approach of Positive Technology (Riva, Banos,
Botella, Wiederhold, & Gaggioli, 2012), it is possible to use ICT to manip-
ulate the quality of experience, with the goal of increasing emotional, psy-
chological and social wellbeing. Technology manipulates our experience
through its structuring (using goals, rules, and a feedback system), aug-
mentation (multimodal and multisensory experiences) and replacement
(simulating the physical presence in a synthetic world). Using these
strategies it is possible to modify three features of our personal
experience: the affective quality promoting the hedonic wellbeing (i.e.
fostering positive emotional states, exposure therapy), the engagement
and self-actualizing experiences promoting the eudaimonic wellbeing
(i.e. transformation of flow, a person's ability to exploit an optimal expe-
rience to identify and use new resources as stimuli of involvement), and
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: 39 55 2755019; fax: 39 55 6236047.
E-mail address: annalaura.nocentini@virgilio.it (A. Nocentini).
ing the social/interpersonal wellbeing (i.e. networked flow, individual
and group flourishing through serious game) (Riva et al., 2012).
Through which types of ICTs can these three characteristics be
modified?
Virtual reality, serious game and emerging mobile devices are capa-
ble of exploiting the potential of positive emotions (Argenton, Schek, &
Mantovani, 2014). Internet, virtual reality, social networks, video-
games, and serious games are all types of ICT capable of supporting
the emergence of a flow state and of engaging people more actively
in what they currently do, thus promoting eudaimonic well-being
(Argenton et al., 2014). Finally, more advanced ICT systems such as
Groupware (technology based systems that assist groups of participants
engaged in a common task, supporting communication, coordination,
and collaboration), social software platforms (such as Enterprise 2.0
used within companies to facilitate the achievement of business
objectives through the work on collaboration, communication and
connectedness), and crowdsourcing (an online distributed problem-
solving and production model) are capable of empowering social pres-
ence promoting social wellbeing. Besides, other ICT technologies such
as serious game can enhance the optimal functioning of the group and
social integration; online social networking applications such as
Facebook offer an efficient platform for socialization.
In the field of education, the introduction of computer based inter-
ventions in US public schools did start in the late 1970s and early
1980s (Gustafson, Bosworth, Chewning, & Hawkins, 1987). In more

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.05.012
1359-1789/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60
recent years, virtual reality interventions have been used not only for
the evaluation of attention deficit disorders, treatment of school phobia
and anxiety testing, but also for teaching prevention strategies for
health-related behaviors such as sexuality or obesity and for interper-
sonal or behavior problems that usually appear in these contexts, such
as bullying in schools (Carmona, Espínola, Cangas, & Iribarne, 2011). Se-
rious game as well constitutes a common ICT-mediated intervention in
the field of education: serious games are used to learn traditional sub-
jects (e.g., math, science, geography, reading) but also for more sensi-
tive, non-curricula subjects, including healthy eating, illegal substance
abuse, healthy relationships, sex education and aggression (Bowen
et al., 2014; Rubin-Vaughan, Pepler, Brown, & Craig, 2011). The charac-
teristics of serious game (multimodality, interactivity, complex narra-
tive structure, social multiplayer use, playful action) make them
particularly suitable to facilitate social and behavioral change affecting
the motivational system, the comprehension and knowledge acquisi-
tion, and attitudes (Klimmt, 2009).
Overall, the use of ICTs — mediated interventions as a learning
method has several advantages in respect to traditional methods:
1) they allow users to simulate real world experiences and practice
new skills;
2) they are suited to request, organize, process, and quickly update
information from data bases, literature, and experts as well as from
the user;
3) they can be programmed to make this information selectively
available to the user at a time, speed, and format of presentation
controlled by the user;
4) they are attractive to children and adolescents;
5) they permit multimodal learning or facilitation of skills transference
processes learned from one context to another;
6) they permit to tailor the intervention on the personal characteristics
of the users. The computer tailoring combines strategies and infor-
mation capable of reaching a specific person by providing personal-
ized feedback based on the unique characteristics of a person;
7) they offer protected environments which allow children to explore
“emotionally hot” situations ensuring privacy and protective
distancing. They offer the possibility to address sensitive subjects
confidentially and anonymously;
8) they allow a cognitive and emotional learning process mediated by
experiential activities which is more free from social pressure as
compared to face-to-face experiences;
9) they use more flexible instruments as compared to traditional inter-
vention. These flexible interaction patterns between the user and
the software allow students to practice skills or review information
as often as they wish. After practicing, users can return periodically
for a refresher or to learn new skills.
All these characteristics make the ICTs suitable tools and contexts to
be used for the interventions with children and adolescents. The current
review aims to analyze the use of ICT for interventions on bullying and
victimization.
1.2. Bullying interventions
Current literature on bullying intervention tries to focus on effective
programs capable to reduce the prevalence of the phenomenon and its
consequences. In the latest meta-analysis on the efficacy of interventions
to tackle bullying, Ttofi and Farrington (2011) found that the programs
implemented and evaluated are often capable of counteracting the phe-
nomenon reducing bullying of about 20–23% and victimization of
17–20%. Another recent systematic review (Evans, Fraser, & Cotter,
2014) reported that up to 45% of the studies showed no program effects
on bullying perpetration and about 30% showed no program effects on
victimization.
The Authors emphasized the need to acquire a deeper knowledge
of the most effective components of the programs, and for future
53
research to have a more rigorous design and higher methodological
standards along with theoretically grounded intervention models.
Scholars are encouraged to evaluate the programs rigorously. Specifical-
ly, it is important to follow the recommended standards in order to
have evidence-based programs (Eisner & Malti, 2012; Flay et al.,
2005). In fact, according to the standards of evidence proposed by the
Society of Prevention Science an efficacious intervention (1) should
have been tested in at least two rigorous trials that (2) involved defined
samples from defined populations; (3) used psychometrically sound
measures and data collection procedures; (4) analyzed data with
rigorous statistical approaches; (5) showed consistent positive effects
(without serious iatrogenic effects); and (6) reported at least one
significant long-term follow-up. Only few studies complied with these
standards of evidence defined in the prevention science literature
(Eisner & Malti, 2012; Ttofi & Farrington, 2011) and in bullying
literature. This paucity is even more evident in relation to the recent
expression of bullying in the new virtual context: the so called
“cyberbullying” (Menesini, 2012).
Traditional approaches to bullying proposed different types of face-to-
face interventions (i.e. curriculum, school policies, teachers' interventions,
peer mediation, peer education, specific interventions targeted at the
most aggressive students). Recently, also in this field of bullying and
cyberbullying prevention some programs started to be implemented
using the benefits offered by the virtual environments (i.e. virtual and
serious games, virtual scenarios, web forum, social networks…). Skill-
building computer games have been developed to achieve more general
violence prevention goals for elementary and secondary school stu-
dents. However, bullying requires specific educational lessons because
it represents a specific social problem involving group dynamics and
group roles and a relationship between the bully and the victim based
on power imbalance (Menesini, 2003; Olweus, 1993). More common
are the ICTs-mediated interventions on cyberbulllying given its digital
nature.
Computer-delivered interventions might have a relevant impact and
several benefits on the prevention of bullying. For example, literature
showed that the characteristic of the computer tailoring enhances be-
havioral change. Tailoring can increase the efficacy of an intervention
as well as the user satisfaction and completion of the program by
allowing for a more engaging personalized experience (Ryan & Lauver,
2002). An anti-bullying prevention program tailored on personal char-
acteristics (i.e. level of anti-bullying attitudes, level of moral disengage-
ment, level of empathy…) might result as more effective as compared
to programs which are equal for all the students. Other characteristics
of ICT interventions could potentially have an impact on bullying
prevention: the protected environments which allow children to
explore “emotionally hot” situations, or a cognitive learning situation
free from social pressure. Given the relevance the social group has for
bullying dynamics, a first step should attempt to give awareness and
to manage the emotions and beliefs related to bullying without the
group pressure either for victims and bystanders.
Given the relevance of this new and challenging area of intervention,
the present study will present results of a first systematic review of
ICTs-mediated interventions on bullying and cyberbullying.
2. The present study
Starting from the above considerations, the present study aims to
explore the presence in literature of ICT-mediated interventions to pre-
vent and to tackle bullying. Besides, the study aims to evaluate whether
and to what extent these virtual interventions are effective according to
the standards of evidence (Flay et al., 2005). We decided to limit our
analysis on a systematic review instead of a meta-analysis because a
preliminary research on the main databases revealed a very limited
number of studies conducted on that issue and in some cases without
statistic data.
54 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60
Overall, the present study aims to: 1) conduct a systematic review
on anti-bullying ICT-mediated intervention; 2) analyze the characteris-
tics of the main programs; and 3) show evidence of their effectiveness.
3. Methods
3.1. Search strategy and study selection
3.1.1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Two inclusion criteria were defined: 1) selection of studies about
prevention and intervention against bullying and cyberbullying in a vir-
tual environment; 2) scientific availability of studies (i.e. scientific
journals and conference papers).
The following studies were excluded: studies of basic research with
no intervention or prevention programs, the conference proceedings
without conference papers available in databases, studies from Grey lit-
erature, and all the interventions without any specific online/virtual/
digital tools.
Authors were contacted for more information about the program
when some characteristics were not fully clear and more details were
needed.
3.1.1.1. Search strategy. Three criteria guided our search strategy:
1. Databases: PsycINFO, Scopus and PubMed databases were searched
for publications since 1996.
2. Keywords: we defined three thematic domains, which are
Environment–Phenomenon–Intervention, and within each domain
we defined the following keywords:
• Environment: serious game, computer game, digital game,
technology(ies), helper programs, virtual, online games, online, virtual
learning environment, application, simulation, synthetic character;
• Phenomenon: bullying, cyberbullying, anti-bullying;
• Intervention: intervention, education, prevention, learning, social skill
learning, game based learning, human computer interactions, intelligent
tutoring, experimental, engagement, knowledge, against.
The keywords for each domain were combined using AND
(example: (es. serious game and bullying and intervention, serious
game and bullying and education).
3. Search fields involved were: abstract for PsycINFO, title/abstract/key
words for Scopus, and title/abstract for PubMed.
3.1.1.2. Coding system. • Name
• Outcome behavior: bullying vs bullying and other forms of aggression
and violence
• Target population: preschool (2–5 years), school age (6–11 years),
adolescence–young adulthood (from 12 years)
• Type of ICT tool used in the program: e.g. serious game, virtual envi-
ronment, online platform, online activities such as forum, and online
counseling
• Multifaceted interventions (face-to-face + ICT-mediated component)
vs single ICT-component intervention
• Effectiveness: we defined that a program presented some evidence of
effectiveness when it showed significant improvements in at least one
study through an experimental design with a randomized control trial
(pre-test and post-test and two groups, experimental and control) or
a quasi-experimental design (pre-test and post-test and two groups,
but no randomized control trial).
4. Results
The database search yielded 840 hits, from which 461 duplicates
were deleted (see Fig. 1). Next, 338 were deleted after reading the
abstract: in particular the majority of them were deleted as it was
basic research (no intervention was presented), a part presented gener-
al interventions without a virtual component, and a small part was de-
leted as it was not in English and did not focus on bullying. 41 full text
papers were evaluated and 9 papers were excluded. Two of them
were still basic research (in the previous step they were evaluated as in-
tervention because they suggested an intervention). Three of them
were related to face-to-face interventions without any virtual compo-
nent (PEACEPACK; CONRED): the authors of these interventions sent
us this information. Finally, four other papers were deleted because
they presented or suggested a general approach to the intervention.
Liang (2010), for instance, suggests developing anti-cyber-bullying
computer programs, which may detect bullying messages and send
warning messages to the bullies and comforting messages to the
victims.
Overall, 32 final papers were included in the present review. As we
can see from Table 1 and Table 2, these 32 papers are related to 13 inter-
vention models. In the next section we will briefly describe the charac-
teristics of each program and summarize them on Table 2.
4.1. FearNot!
FearNot! (Fun with Empathic Agents to achieve Novel Outcomes in
Teaching) (Paiva et al., 2004), is an immersive learning intervention
aimed to help victims to escape victimization, and to reduce overall
bullying and victimization. The program was designed to enhance the
problem solving skills of current or potential victims of bullying by en-
couraging students to generate and evaluate a wide range of responses
to bullying in a safe environment that ensured privacy. The interactive
Virtual Learning Environment includes a virtual school populated
by 3D animated pupils who assumed the different bullying roles (i.e.
bully, victim, bystander). The pupils have artificial intelligence: they
can learn by their experience and develop successful coping strategies
in the course of the episodes (Aylett et al., 2006). After a bullying epi-
sode, there is an interactive episode where the user can interact with
the virtual victim via an instant messenger interface suggesting coping
strategies. The empathic engagement between the user and the victim
assumes a central role to create responsibility and interest in the user.
The characters choose whether to follow the user's advice or not: this
decision is based on their previous experience, current mental states
Initial search results
Total: 840
461 duplicates deleted
Screened by abstract
Total: 379
338 Abstracts excluded:
- 78% basic research (no intervention)
- 20% no virtual or ICT component
- 2% not bullying
- 2% not in English
Full text papers evaluated
Total: 41
9 papers excluded:
- 2 basic research (no intervention)
- 3 no virtual or ICT component
- 4 general approach to the intervention
Studies finally retained
Total: 32
Fig. 1. Flow chart of the study selection process.
 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60 55

Table 1 4.2. SMART Talk

Full text papers evaluated.

References Program/intervention Excluded SMART Talk (Students Managing Anger and Resolution Together) is
1. Enz et al. (2007) FearNot
a computer-based multimedia program designed to teach adolescents
2. Hall et al. (2004) FearNot how to solve interpersonal problems without violence (Bosworth,
3. Hall, Jones, Paiva, and FearNot Espelage, DuBay, Dahlberg, & Daytner, 1996). SMART Talk has 3 major
Aylett (2009) components: Anger Management, Perspective Taking, and Dispute Res-
4. Hall and Woods (2009) FearNot
olution. The first component uses animation, interactive assessment in-
5. Hall et al. (2009) FearNot
6. Aylett et al. (2006) FearNot terviews, and games to teach students to recognize the cycle of anger,
7. Hall, Woods, & Aylett (2006) FearNot the triggers of anger and the strategies for handling anger and conflict.
8. Paiva et al., (2004) FearNot In the second component, students have to view anger situations from
9. Aylett et al. (2006) FearNot the perspectives of all participants in the situation, through a game
10. Aylett, Louchart, Dias, Paiva, FearNot
& Vala (2005)
format. A modeling technique is used presenting interviews with high
11. Sapouna et al. (2010) FearNot school peer mediators and celebrities that manage conflict. The final
12. Vala, Dias, and Paiva (2006) FearNot component is an interactive mediation process that guides students to
13. Vannini, Enz, Sapouna, Wolke, FearNot generate solutions to their conflict.
Watson, Woods (2010)
Evidence of effectiveness has been showed through a RCT: the inter-
14. Watson et al. (2010) FearNot
15. Woods, Hall, Dautenhahn, FearNot vention was successful in diminishing students' beliefs supporting vio-
and Wolke (2007) lence and increasing their intentions to use nonviolent strategies
16. Vala et al. (2006). FearNot (Bosworth, Espelage, Dubay, Daytner, & Karageorge, 2000), although
17. Bosworth et al. (1996) SMART Talk any change in aggressive behaviors has been found.
18. Bosworth, in press SMART talk
19. Bosworth, Espelage, and SMART Talk
DuBay (1998) 4.3. Mii-School
20. Bosworth et al. (2000) SMART Talk
21. Carmona et al. (2010) Mii-School
22. Carmona et al. (2011) Mii-School Mii-School is a Virtual Reality Simulator aimed to early evaluate the
23. Rubin-Vaughan et al. (2011) Quest for the Golden Rule presence of different risk behaviors such as bullying, substance use, and
24. Palladino, Nocentini, NoTrap! peer relational problems. This program aims to be relevant on preven-
& Menesini (2012)
tion, as it provides the possibility of knowing what persons would be
25. Yang & Salmivalli (2015) KiVa
26. Jacobs et al. (2014) Online Pestkoppenstoppen in a risk situation and their responses in the above contexts (Carmona,
27. Van Broeckhoven and FRIENLDY ATTAC Espínola, Cangas, & Iribarne, 2010). Adolescents watched 17 scenes re-
De Troyer (2013) lated to bullying, drug addiction, family life, capacity for attention in
28. Slee and Mohyla (2014) PEACE PACK Excluded class and integration in social groups. In relation to the bullying scenes,
29. Mohyla, Slee, The P.E.A.C.E. Pack, PEACE PACK Excluded
& S.I.T.E. software (2012)
the student had to choose their responses starting from a series of
30. Del Rey, Casas, and Ortega (2012) CONRED Excluded predefined choices: feeling indifferent to the bullies, protesting,
31. Brewer, (2011) WebQuest responding ironically, running away in fear, facing up to them or feeling
32. Choleva et al. (2013) The Labyrinth ashamed.
33. Van Der Zwaan et al. (2012) Emphatic virtual buddy
Unfortunately no evidence of effectiveness has been showed until
34. Wright et al. (2009) Virtual environment
35. Pérez et al. (2012) MISAAC now for this program.
36. Oravec (2012) – Excluded
37. Liang (2010) – Excluded
38. Dinakar, Jones, Havasi, Lieberman, User interaction paradigms Excluded 4.4. QUEST for the Golden Rule
and Picard (2012)
39. Bostic and Brunt (2011) – Excluded QUEST for the Golden Rule is an anti-bullying prevention and inter-
40. Ahlfors (2010) – Excluded
vention program composed by a web-based game, guides for teachers
41. Van Den Broeck, Poels, Vandebosch, – Excluded
& Van Royen (2014)
on software use, targeted curricula and follow-up activities. Students
are encouraged to participate in school tasks and in additional activities
at home (Rubin-Vaughan, Pepler, Brown, & Craig, 2011).
The interaction between children and the animated characters pro-
and goals. After that, users can observe the consequences of their vides them the opportunity to learn and practice social skills and try
suggested strategy. The main strength of this software is that the out different strategies to cope with bullying. Students cannot move
characters' behaviors are not entirely pre-scripted but emerge on from a social problem solving situation until they have provided a
from the interaction situations and the characters' goals and mental prosocial solution accepted by the structure of the game. Three modules
states. Children interact individually with the software for several have been designed each addressing a different topic related to bullying
times; they can follow the story using the same computer all the time. prevention: Bark Academy, Mission to Mars and Ghoul School. In the
Teachers have only to assist children when they report comprehension first module, students are invited to attend Bark Academy, a dog school
problems. where different types of bullying are present and where they help solve
The effectiveness of the program has been tested in different cases of bullying by using the concept of The Golden Rule. The second
studies with consistent samples (RCT) of children in primary schools module teaches students about the social skills involved in making
of the UK and Germany (Sapouna et al., 2010; Vannini et al., 2010). friends. Finally, the third module addresses the important issue of
Results showed a short-term effect on escaping victimization for a how to respond when faced with bullying situations and empowers stu-
priori identified victims (victims in the intervention group were more dents to safely refuse and report bullying.
likely to escape victimization at the first follow-up compared with Evidence of effectiveness was not showed given that the study was
victims in the control group — adjusted RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.02–1.81) conducted without any control group condition. However, comparing
and a short-term overall prevention effect for UK children. Besides, pre-test and post-test conditions in the experimental group, authors
FearNot! helped non-involved children to become defenders in the showed that children's knowledge of bullying and their identification of
German sub-sample. strategies to prevent bullying improved significantly (Rubin-Vaughan
56 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60

Table 2
Program characteristics.

Program Outcome Target Type of ICT Tool Multifaceted Evidence of

intervention vs effectiveness
single-ICT
component

FearNot! Bullying School age Serious game No Yes

SMART Talk Violence, bullying Adolescence Serious game No Yes
Mii-School Bullying, substance use, psychological Adolescence Serious game No No
problems, family problems
Quest Golden Rule Bullying School age Serious game Yes No
NoTrap! Bullying Adolescence Online activities (web-site, forum, Yes Yes
Cyberbullying Facebook group)
KiVa Bullying School age Serious game Yes Yes
Cyberbullying Adolescence
Online Pestkoppenstoppen Cybervictims Adolescence Online platform (counseling) No No
Friedly Attac Cyberbullying Adolescence Serious game Yes No
WebQuest Cyberbullying Adolescence Inquiry-based lesson situated on the Internet No No
The Labyrinth Safer Internet School age Serious game No No
Emphatic virtual buddy Cybervitims Adolescence Online counseling No No
Virtual environment Cyberbullying Adolescence Second life (virtual environment) No No
MISAAC Cyberbullying Instant messaging users Technical tool No No

et al., 2011). The majority of children reported that they enjoyed the game threads were about: incidents of bullying and cyberbullying from the
and felt confident that they could help solve bullying problems. perspective of victims (21%) and bystanders (16%), misunderstandings
about the incidents (21%), and how a victim can cope with the situa-
4.5. NoTrap! tions (11%) (Menesini et al., 2015).

NoTrap! (Noncadiamointrappola! which means “Let's not fall 4.6. KiVa

into the trap!”) program (Menesini, Nocentini, & Palladino, 2012;
Menesini, Palladino, & Nocentini, 2015; Palladino, Nocentini, &
Menesini, in press) is a school-based universal intervention which
makes use of a peer-led approach to prevent and combat both tradition-
al bullying and cyberbullying. The intervention works online and offline
with a sequence of two main phases. The first phase of the program is
managed by adults (psychologists, experts) and it is launched and car-
ried out in school contexts. The second phase is led by peer educators,
a group of students that after a specific training assume a role of respon-
sibility both in their classroom and online. Specifically, peer educators
enhance awareness and provide support in the virtual context and use
a more cooperative approach in face-to-face contexts. The online
peer educators animate the webpage of the program (http://www.
squarciagola.net/cyberbullismo/) and moderate the web forum, they
manage the online threats and they support people who request help:
they activate some lines of discussion through the forum and upload
materials and interventions produced on the topic. Besides, they work
as Facebook group publisher: the Facebook group complements the
webpage forum (to be used to communicate with online peer educators
and to spread out the possibility for everyone to anonymously ask for a
help on the webpage).
Although evidence of effectiveness has been showed for the NoTrap!
program as a whole program, no evidence of effectiveness related to the
specific component of online activities has been reported (Palladino
et al., in press). Evidence of effectiveness for the whole program has
been showed through two quasi-experimental trials that involved dif-
ferent samples of adolescents attending the first year of high school. In-
tervention significantly predicted the change over time in all targeted
variables: victimization, bullying, cybervictimization, and cyberbullying.
The experimental group showed a significant decrease over time in
these variables while no change has been found in the control group.
Besides, significant long-term effects were found at the follow up six
months later.
From a descriptive point of view, authors showed that during the
first trial (2011–2012) 10 new treads were opened and 66 answers
were given in the forum: they were displayed from 180 to 1464 times
at the end on the program. During the second trial (2012–2013) 9
threads were opened and 52 answers were given: they were displayed
from 167 to 1311 times at the end of the program. The topics of the
The KiVa program is an anti-bullying prevention and intervention
program: it involves both universal actions targeted at all students,
and indicated actions targeted at students involved in a bullying epi-
sode. KiVa universal actions include a series of student lessons given
by classroom teachers and computer games. The main aims of the stu-
dent lessons are to raise awareness of the role bystanders play in the
bullying process, to increase empathic understanding of the victim,
and to provide safe strategies to support and defend the victims
(Salmivalli, Kärnä, & Poskiparta, 2010). Although the computer games
can be played independently by the Kiva program, they are aimed to re-
inforce the knowledge and the skills students have acquired in class
during KiVa lessons. The setting of the KiVa game is a KiVa virtual
school: KiVa game involves five levels each including three modules
that are I Know, I Can, and I Do. In the first module students learn
what bullying is and they can examine what they have learnt during les-
sons; game-like quizzes ask students questions about the contents of
the lessons and students can test themselves in relation to different
skills (e.g. self-efficacy in resisting to the group pressure) . In the second
module students practice the skills they have learnt (i.e. they make
decision about how to respond to difficult situations): the player has
to choose how to behave from different options available. At certain
points of the narration the player can read the minds of the other char-
acter (i.e. the victim) to see how they feel. Based on these cues and on
how the episode proceeds the player can also change his/her behavior.
The third module is aimed to encourage students to make use of their
knowledge and skills in real-life situations by asking them to report
which KiVa rules they have succeeded in putting into practice.
Although evidence of effectiveness has been showed for the KiVa as
a whole program, no evidence of effectiveness related to the specific
component of KiVa game has been reported. The effects of KiVa
anti-bullying program as a whole have been evaluated in several studies
based on a large randomized controlled trial (Kärnä et al., 2013) and on
the nationwide roll-out of the program (Kärnä et al., 2011). The findings
showed that KiVa significantly reduced both victimization and bullying,
and it has also secondary effects on psychological symptoms and school
climate.
For the game component the authors published a descriptive
survey on children's perception of the game (Poskiparta, Kaukiainen,
 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60
Pöyhönen, & Salmivalli, 2012). Half of the students reported to have
played the game only in school and 10% only outside the school and
40% both in and out of the school. Besides, victims of bullying played
the game more often as compared to bullies and not-involved. Overall,
girls, younger students, and victims of bullying perceived the game
more positively and helpful to learn how to cope with bullying
problems.
4.7. Online Pestkoppenstoppen
Online Pestkoppenstoppen (Stop Bullies Online/Stop Online Bullies)
is a web-based tailored intervention aimed to reduce the number of
cyberbullying victims and their symptoms of depression and anxiety,
by teaching them how to cope in an effective manner (Jacobs, Völlink,
Dehue, and Lechner, 2014). The program consists of an online platform
where victims of cyberbullying have access and through their personal
page they: (a) can proceed with the sessions of advice; (b) can find
for each advice pictures, video-clips, comics, summaries, formed helpful
thoughts, plans and sentences to use; and (c) have access to the extra
tailored social skill lessons. Three sessions of advice were included:
(1) Think strong, feel better: according to Rational Emotive (Behavioral)
Therapy this session is aimed to raise awareness of the relation between
an irrational thought, feeling and behavior, and to replace irrational
thoughts with more rational thoughts; (2) Stop the bully now!: the
user receives information about the dynamics of online and offline bul-
lying situations and general training on coping strategies; and (3) You
are doing great, can you do better?: the user receives feedback and if
necessary adjusts the plans. The pieces of advice have the characteristics
to be tailored to the users' personal and psychological features: for that
reason each advice is preceded by several questionnaires measuring tai-
loring and effect variables. Each advice takes approximately 45 min to
complete: overall, the whole process is spread over three months.
The program has been designed following an evidence informed de-
sign (Jacobs et al., 2014) but no evidence of effectiveness has been
showed yet.
4.8. Friendly ATTAC
“Friendly ATTAC” (ATTAC = Adaptive Technological Tools Against
Cyberbullying) is a Flemish inter-disciplinary project aimed to investi-
gate how ICT-related tools can be effectively used in health interventions
with regard to cyberbullying amongst youngsters (Van Broeckhoven &
De Troyer, 2013; Van Cleemput, Vandebosch, Poels, Bastiaensens,
DeSmet, De Bourdeaudhuij, 2015). Within this project the development
of a digital serious game to combat cyberbullying in the first and second
grades of secondary schools was included. The game is still in an early
phase of development: a concept test has been performed in order to
provide the researchers with a lot of information on how to improve
the current materials, and on what needs to be taken into account
when developing new program materials (Van Cleemput et al., in press).
4.9. WebQuest
This is not a standardized program but it is a unique intervention
conducted in a middle school in Los Angeles (Brewer, 2011). The
WebQuest intervention was created using iWeb, a web design tool pro-
vided by Apple with the aim to help students construct their own un-
derstanding of cyberbullying. The WebQuest is an inquiry-based
lesson on the Internet (Dodge, 1995). WebQuests are framed around a
scenario in which the students take on a role to complete a task. For
that intervention students had to play the role of an investigative jour-
nalist researching on cyberbullying for a newspaper. The WebQuest in
this intervention contained five sections: 1) pre-test evaluation and in-
troduction: it provides the context of the narrative scenario in which the
participants will engage; 2) task: the task for the students is to learn
more about cyberbullying by viewing multimedia resources on the
57
Internet; 3) process: they receive explicit directions about what to do
in the WebQuest; 4) resources: videos, stories, quiz; and 5) post-test
evaluation.
Evidence of effectiveness was not showed given that the study was
conducted without any control group condition. However, comparing
pre-test and post-test conditions in the experimental group authors
showed that the WebQuest treatment was highly effective in increasing
middle-school students' awareness of cyberbullying and its dangers,
knowledge of cyberbullying and a more articulated definition of the
phenomenon (Brewer, 2011).
4.10. The Labyrinth
The Labyrinth is a serious game about safer Internet developed by
Greek elementary school students through Kodu, which is a visual pro-
gramming tool especially designed for introducing children to program-
ming principles (Choleva, Simeon, Filis, Metefas, & Patrikakis, 2013).
The game world is a labyrinth whose corridors represent the chaotic
Internet connections. The player is a student who needs to use the Inter-
net in order to write his school assignment: at the beginning he is at
home and has to get to school after having acquired all the necessary in-
formation for his essay. While moving through the labyrinth the user
finds useful material for his essay but at the same time he has to face
several threats (i.e. unknown internet users ask for his personal data).
The player has to get the Internet protection programs or ask for his
teacher's help in order to repulse those attacks.
Although it cannot be considered an evaluation study, a post-test
questionnaire indicated that all the children wouldn't share personal in-
formation, such as name, age or home address to other unknown users
online, 76% of them wouldn't take part in online contests if they weren't
sure about the safety characteristics and 71% would ask the opinion of a
parent or teacher when they find themselves in a similar situation.
4.11. Empathic virtual buddy (Embodied Conversational Agents — ECAs)
This is not a standardized program but it is a single experiment con-
ducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of an online intervention aimed
to offer support to victims of cyberbullying (Van Der Zwaan, Geraerts,
Dignum, & Jonker, 2012). Given that the online counseling with the for-
mat of one-on-one is very demanding, this intervention aims to auto-
mate this kind of support to reach more victims. The virtual empathic
buddy tries to comfort victims of cyberbullying using the Embodied
Conversational Agents (ECAs) that is a user interface consisting of a vir-
tual character that interacts with users based on the principles of face-
to-face communication. When a child feels uncomfortable because he/
she was victimized, he/she can turn to the buddy for emotional support
and practical advice on how to deal with the situation. The buddy is a
virtual character displayed for non-verbal communication: besides, ver-
bal communication between the user and the buddy is facilitated
through the chat window.
A cross-sectional experimental design showed that the target
audience recognizes the emotional cues expressed by the buddy.
Answers to the open questions also demonstrated the participants'
positive attitude towards the buddy and the context.
4.12. Virtual environments (SL)
This is not a standardized program but it presents the development
of educational scenarios/simulations using virtual world avatars
similar to those used in Second Life (SL) (Wright, Burnham, Inman, &
Ogorchock, 2009). The scenarios/simulations are aimed to increase
awareness of cyberbullying and to educate adolescents on the phenom-
enon. Based on focus groups conducted with adolescents, it was decided
that one scenario needed to be behavioral in nature (i.e., girls sending
hurtful messages via MySpace) and another educational in nature
(i.e., student visits the school counselor after a Facebook joke got out
58 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60
of hand). The latter scenario included an interactive educational compo-
nent at the end to get students to think about cyberbullying in the post
scenario moments. The cyberbullying scenarios/simulations were de-
veloped in SL using virtual simulations: the scenarios were then record-
ed in order to be played by others.
Student evaluators agreed that the virtual presentations were realis-
tic and that the messages of the scenarios were clear: “Do not take
cyberbullying into your own hands. Tell an adult” (Wright et al., 2009;
p. 40).
4.13. MISAAC
MISAAC presents a technical solution to the problem of harassment
through Instant messaging, proposing an Instant messaging tool for
Cyberbullying Detection (Pérez, Valdez, De Guadalupe Cota Ortiz,
Barrera, & Pérez, 2012). In particular this tool is based on the architec-
ture of ARSEC-AMS agents (Pérez et al., 2012) to detect threats and ver-
bal abuse to which a child is usually exposed, taking into account the
behavior of the aggressors and techniques of content analysis of mes-
sages exchanged through chats.
5. Discussion
The present review represents a first attempt to analyze the use
of ICTs for the prevention and intervention against bullying and
cyberbullying. We decided to focus our review on the interventions
that appeared on the main scientific databases because we were inter-
ested in prevention and intervention programs which showed some ev-
idence of scientific effectiveness or at least which were created with a
scientific method. For that reason, it is possible that other relevant
anti-bullying programs making use of ICTs might exist but without
any evidence of scientific structure or at least not reported in the official
scientific literature.
The review showed that only 13 programs emerged from the search.
Considering the recent development and the spread of ICTs within chil-
dren and young people this number is still very low.
Besides some general considerations can be derived from this
review.
First, half of the interventions (FearNot!, SMART Talk, Mii-School,
Quest Golden Rule, NoTrap!, KiVa) are designed and aimed to prevent
bullying and two of them, NoTrap! and KiVa, have been created with
the specific goal to intervene at the same time on bullying and
cyberbullying. On the contrary, the others (The Labyrinth, Friendly
Attac, Virtual Reality (SL), Online Pestkoppenstoppen, Emphatic Virtual
Buddy, WebQuest and MISAAC) are just focused on cyberbullying. This
difference on behavioral target can be explained considering the years
when the program has been developed: SMART Talk was created in
the 90s, FearNot! at the beginning of the 2000s, KiVa in 2006, Quest
for the Golden Rule around 2007, and NoTrap! in 2008 (first pilot). All
the others focused on cyberbullying are much more recent.
Second, the review underscores the presence of more “standardized
program” vs “one spot intervention”. FearNot!, SMART Talk, Mii-School,
Quest for the Golden Rule, NoTrap!, KiVa are standardized programs be-
cause they have been piloted and then tested with different samples.
Online Pestkoppenstoppen and Friendly Attac are very recent and
the last is still in its first stage of development. All the others can be con-
sidered as one spot intervention because they represent a unique inter-
vention conducted once or they represent interventions which need
further development or applications. WebQuest is a single intervention
which suggests an easy curriculum method to work on bullying and
cyberbullying knowledge via ICT means. The Labyrinth and the Virtual
Environment (SL) created two different digital tools (a serious game
in the first case and a virtual environment scenario in the second)
that can be used by other players in the future. Finally, Emphatic
Virtual Buddy and MISAAC presented two first experiments conducted
with two different methods to prevent and to intervene against
cyberbullying: the first proposes an online counseling and the second
proposes a technical solution for Instant Messaging Users.
Third, only few multifaceted programs (interventions with both
components: face-to-face and ICTs-mediated) emerged from the re-
view: Quest for the Golden Rule, NoTrap!, KiVa and Friendly Attac. All
the others are single-ICT component interventions. Besides, within mul-
tifaceted interventions we can distinguish between programs where
the ICT-component can be used also by other possible targets not direct-
ly involved in the program (i.e. NoTrap!) and programs where the ICT-
component is developed to be used with the specific program or group
involved in the project. This is the case of KiVa where the ICT video-
games are considered a reinforcement of the face-to-face activities.
Fourth, starting from the Positive Technology approach proposed by
Riva et al. (2012) in order to prevent and to intervene against bullying
and victimization, the 13 interventions are aimed to modify the follow-
ing features of the experience:
- Affective states: all the programs using serious game (Fearnot!,
SMART-Talk, MiiShool, Quest Golden Rule, KiVa, The Labyrinth, and
Friendly Attac), virtual reality (SL) and online counseling (Online
Pestkoppenstoppen and Emphatic Virtual Buddy)
- Engagement and self-actualizing experiences: all the programs
using serious game (Fearnot!, SMART-Talk, MiiShool, Quest Golden
Rule, KiVa, The Labyrinth, and Friendly Attac), virtual reality (SL),
social networks and online activities (NoTrap! and WebQuest)
- Social connectedness between individuals: all the programs using
serious game (Fearnot!, SMART-Talk, MiiShool, Quest Golden Rule,
KiVa, The Labyrinth, and Friendly Attac), virtual reality (SL), and so-
cial networks (NoTrap!).
As we can see from this categorization, some programs are capable of
modifying all the three features of experience, in particular programs
making use of serious game (Fearnot!, SMART-Talk, Mii-School, Quest
for the Golden Rule, KiVa, The Labyrinth, and Friendly Attac) and of virtual
reality (SL). Besides, the online counseling (Online Pestkoppenstoppen
and Emphatic Virtual Buddy) is mainly used to promote the hedonic
wellbeing (i.e. foster positive emotional states). The NoTrap! program is
more focused on promoting the eudaimonic and the social wellbeing.
Finally, WebQuest is aimed to engage students more actively in what
they currently do promoting eudaimonic wellbeing.
Fifth, in terms of specific ICTs used throughout the interventions, the
review highlighted whether the most recent programs make use of dif-
ferent ICTs such as online platforms with different online activities
(web-site, forum, facebook group, online counseling), Virtual Environ-
ment Scenarios, technical solutions. On the other side the early inter-
ventions mainly used serious games as ICT activity.
Finally, in relation to the evaluation of effectiveness, only four pro-
grams showed some evidence of effectiveness in reducing bullying
and cyberbullying: FearNot!, SMART Talk, NoTrap! and KiVa. Quest for
the Golden Rule, WebQuest and The Labyrinth only included the exper-
imental group in the evaluation and not the control condition: thus,
their findings cannot be considered valid in demonstrating that the
improvement is caused by the intervention. Empathic Virtual Buddy
did not consider a longitudinal design. All the other interventions
(Mii-School,Virtual Environment (SL) and MISAAC) only presented
some descriptive information about the degree of satisfaction.
Some suggestions for future studies about the evaluation of effective-
ness can emerge from this review. Evidence of effectiveness for single-ICT
component interventions (FearNot! and SMART Talk) suggest that ICTs
may provide a powerful tool for bullying prevention. On the contrary,
given that NoTrap! and KiVa are multifaceted programs with also a
face-to-face component and the effectiveness of these programs has
been showed only for the whole program, we cannot really know the
added value of the ICT-component in a multifaceted anti-bullying pro-
gram. Studies comparing single components (face-to-face vs online)
 A. Nocentini et al. / Aggression and Violent Behavior 23 (2015) 52–60
and the added value of the ICT-component in a multifaceted program are
needed and they could suggest relevant practical information on how to
improve these programs. Knowing the differential impact of the different
components on the problem solution can guide the choice within the
schools and tailor the intervention for the specific context. For example,
some authors suggested that the observed benefits of using serious
game in education may only arise in certain situations. It could therefore
be argued that games should not be seen as standalone sessions but per-
haps something that can be used as adjuncts (Hays, 2005; Shaffer, 2006).
Another possible line of investigation can address the effectiveness of the
specific ICT used. For example we might ask whether serious games
should be more effective than other digital tools in preventing bullying
such as virtual reality scenarios (i.e. SL). Another example is related to
the online counseling for the victim offered through an empathic virtual
buddy: is that solution more effective as compared to the support given
through a private chat?
6. Conclusion
Digital technologies are a feature of our society and their use is par-
ticularly salient during childhood and adolescence. This age group is
more likely to use the internet, own gaming devices, go online wireless-
ly (via laptops and phones), use social networking sites and download
and use apps on their phones (Zickuhr, 2011). Overall, considering the
enormous development of digital tools and the importance of this expe-
rience for young students, the review underlines that ICT tools are gen-
erally under-used in prevention and intervention against bullying and
cyberbullying. Only in more recent years some advances in that direc-
tion can be seen with more differentiated solutions making use of differ-
ent ICTs. The need for scientific studies on the effectiveness and the
effect size of these virtual interventions is evident from this review
and necessary in order to assist practitioners, policy makers, and admin-
istrators in deciding which interventions can work or not and why.
Starting from this review, we think that an anti-bullying ICT-mediated
intervention should include: 1) interventions for the already known vic-
tims and bullies: this action can be delivered through the online counsel-
ing such as the one proposed in the Online Pestkoppenstoppen and
Emphatic Virtual Buddy, aimed to support the victim, to promote an em-
powerment process in the victims and to make the bully aware of his/her
own responsibility. In that direction other interesting suggestions can be
found in the KiVa program with the virtual “mailbox” where students
can ask for help, or in the NoTrap! program where students can ask for
help to the online peers and to a private chat; 2) preventive actions for
all the children and adolescents: this action can be delivered through se-
rious games, virtual reality scenarios, and online activities. These actions
are aimed to raise awareness and knowledge on bullying/cyberbullying,
to increase the empathic engagement between the user and the victim
or between the user and the bystanders, to improve the victims' and the
bystanders' coping strategies and problem solving skills, to enhance social
cohesion and to improve the quality of social relationships. For these
actions, we have seen that each technology might have a different
focus or different aims because of their specific characteristics. Besides,
we also know that the different technologies have a different cost (i.e.
developing a serious game is often a very expensive investment and it
takes a long time). Thus, it becomes relevant to choose the specific
ICT-mediated intervention considering the aims, the target, and the
best cost-effectiveness ratio for each ICT component.
6.1. Limitations
The current review is a first attempt to assess the state of art of ICT-
mediated interventions in the bullying and cyberbullying area. Despite
the necessity to summarize what has been done in a new and emerging
area of intervention, we acknowledge several limitations of the study
related to: 1) the choice to limit the search to the scientific databases;
2) the very few studies that were included given the paucity of scientific
59
literature and the specific nature of the aim; 3) the limited number of
studies constrained our efforts to rely on a more descriptive study.
Future reviews might profit of a new and developing area of investiga-
tion and consider other characteristics of the programs such as data
on the effect size related to each intervention effectiveness.
Acknowledgment
The authors wish to thank Anna Pecorini for the work carried out in
her master thesis
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