Intervention in social skills and bullying

OBJECTIVE: to verify if the improvement of social and emotional skills reduces bullying victimization in 6th grade students 12 months after the end of the intervention. METHOD: Quasi-experimental study with 78 students who were bullying victims. A cognitive behavioral intervention based on social skills was conducted with the intervention group. The eight sessions addressed politeness, making friendships, self-control, emotional expressiveness, empathy, assertiveness and solution of interpersonal problems. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression with random effect. RESULTS: Quasi-experimental study with 78 students who were bullying victims. A cognitive behavioral intervention based on social skills was conducted with the intervention group. The eight sessions addressed politeness, making friendships, self-control, emotional expressiveness, empathy, assertiveness and solution of interpersonal problems. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression with random effect. CONCLUSION: Social skills are important in anti-bullying interventions and can be the basis for intersectoral interventions in the health area, aimed at favoring the empowerment of victims by improving their social interactions and quality of life in school.