Enhancing adolescents’ cyberbullying coping skills through a psycho-educational intervention program based on cognitive behavioral therapy

This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based psychoeducational intervention programme designed to enhance adolescents’ coping skills in response to cyberbullying. The study group was drawn from 410 high school students. The Scale on Coping with Cyberbullying was administered, and 40 students with below-average scores were selected. Following individual interviews, 30 students voluntarily participated and were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). An 8-week CBT-based psycho-educational programme was developed and implemented with the experimental group. The effectiveness of the intervention was assessed using pretest, posttest, and follow-up measurements. The results demonstrated a significant increase in the experimental group’s ability to cope with cyberbullying following the intervention. Furthermore, the follow-up assessment indicated that these gains were sustained over time, confirming the programme’s lasting impact. The CBT-based intervention significantly improved adolescents’ awareness of cyberbullying, confirming the programme’s effectiveness.