Be-Prox. An Effectiveness Study of Bullying Intervention in Norwegian Kindergartens.
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
With an overall aim to ensure a safe and sound kindergarten environment for all Norwegian children in accordance with the Kindergarten Act §§41-43, the objectives of the current project are:
To evaluate the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway to prevent and handle negative behavior and bullying among peers in Norwegian kindergartens.
To examine implementation factors that promote and inhibit the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway in Norwegian kindergartens.
To describe the cost-effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway intervention in Norwegian kindergartens.
To generate knowledge on how the Be-Prox Norway intervention can be aligned and implemented in Norwegian kindergartens.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
January 1st, 2021, new additions to the Kindergarten Act came into force in Norway introducing the right for all children to a safe and sound kindergarten environment. According to this act, Norwegian kindergartens shall systematically work to preventing bullying and social exclusion, including adopting a zero-tolerance for violations such as exclusion, bullying, violence, discrimination, and harassment. While relatively little is known about bullying at this age, a growing body of research suggests that bullying occurs also between kindergarten peers and that experiencing bullying at early age is associated with negative consequences.
Currently there are few evidence-based interventions directly targeting bullying among kindergarten peers. Be-Prox, developed for Swiss kindergartens to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying in kindergartens have been translated and adjusted to a Norwegian context in a previous pilot study.
The current project is a close collaboration between two Norwegian municipalities, regional centres for child and youth mental health and welfare, and research and educational institutions.
The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway in a cluster randomized controlled trial, including process and implementation evaluation and cost-effectiveness analyses. Hence the project complies with the current call through introducing research on tools, systems and models that promote evidence-based practices in Norwegian kindergartens in general, and to prevent negative acts and bullying between kindergarten peers in particular.
If proven effective, Be-Prox Norway can be offered to kindergartens nationwide as evidence-based practice to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying among Norwegian kindergarten peers.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Be-Prox intervention Training in the 6 Be-Prox module |
Behavioral: Be-Prox
Be-Prox is an intervention developed to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior in kindergartens.
|
| No Intervention: Control Standard care |
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Change in number of children exposing other children to negative behavior [Pre- to post-intervention, 9 months]
Using a scale on physical, verbal, relational and object-related negative acts, For the primary outcome, the scales will be used as a sum-score where "exposing others" is defined as exposing others to one of the negative acts "more than once a week".
- Change in number of children exposed by other children to negative behavior [Pre- to post-intervention, 9 months]
Using a scale on physical, verbal, relational and object-related negative acts, For the primary outcome, the scales will be used as a sum-score "being exposed" is defined as being exposing by others to one of the negative acts "more than once a week".
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Change in number of children exposing other children to negative behavior 1 and 2 years after the intervention [1 and 2 year post intervention]
Using a scale on physical, verbal, relational and object-related negative acts, For the primary outcome, the scales will be used as a sum-score where "exposing others" is defined as exposing others to one of the negative acts "more than once a week".
- Change in number of children exposed by other children to negative behavior 1 and 2 years after the intervention [1 and 2 year post intervention]
Using a scale on physical, verbal, relational and object-related negative acts, For the primary outcome, the scales will be used as a sum-score "being exposed" is defined as being exposing by others to one of the negative acts "more than once a week".
- Change in child prosocial bystander behavior [Pre- to post-intervention, 9 months and 1 and 2 years post intervention]
12 item questionnaire, Alsaker 2004
- Change in Authoritative climate [Pre- to post-intervention, 12 months and then 1 and 2 years following]
10 item scale, adjusted from Ertesvåg, 2011
- Change in personnel self-efficacy beliefs [Pre- to post-intervention, 12 months and then 1 and 2 years following]
5 item scale, adjusted from Fischer, 2019
- Change in personnel understanding of bullying among children in kindergartens [Pre- to post-intervention, 12 months and then 1 and 2 years following]
8 items questionnaire
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Children born 2018-2020 in kindergartens enrolled to the Be-Prox project and with parental consent to participate.
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Personnel i Norwegian kindergartens enrolled in the Be-Prox project and who consent to participate.
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Parents of children in kindergartens enrolled to the Be-prox project
Exclusion Criteria:
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children born 2021-2023
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children with no parental consent to participate
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NORCE Norwegian Research Center | Bergen | Norway | 5008 | |
| 2 | Narvik municipality | Narvik | Norway | ||
| 3 | Bjørnafjorden municipality | Os | Norway | ||
| 4 | University of Tromsø | Tromsø | Norway |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS
- University of Tromso
- Bjørnafjorden municipality
- Narvik municipality
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Ingrid Kvestad, Dr, NORCE Norwegian Research Center
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 105246