BullyDown, a Text Messaging-based Bullying Prevention Program for Middle School-aged Youth

Sponsor

Center for Innovative Public Health Research (Other)

Overall Status

Recruiting

CT.gov ID

NCT06017050

Collaborator

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Other)

150

Enrollment

Locations

Arms

4.5

Anticipated Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site

16.5

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Given the limited impact of existing school-based interventions and the time associated with implementing them during school time, more efficient and effective intervention methods are needed. Programs that can be delivered to middle school youth irrespective of whether they are attending school physically or virtually may be especially relevant as school boundaries become more fluid. BullyDown addresses this critical need by providing a scalable program that could be quickly and cost-effectively disseminated nationally.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Bullying	Behavioral: BullyDown Behavioral: Attention-matched control	N/A

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Anticipated Enrollment :

150 participants

Allocation:

Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Intervention Model Description:

Youth will be randomized to either the intervention or control group.Youth will be randomized to either the intervention or control group.

Masking:

Single (Participant)

Masking Description:

Youth assigned to the control group will receive message written to seem as if it is intervention content (i.e., address bullying behaviors).

Primary Purpose:

Prevention

Official Title:

Developing a Bullying Prevention Program That Transcends Physical Boundaries

Actual Study Start Date :

Aug 15, 2023

Anticipated Primary Completion Date :

Dec 31, 2023

Anticipated Study Completion Date :

Dec 31, 2023

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
Experimental: BullyDown intervention	Behavioral: BullyDown BullyDown is an 8 week, text messaging-based prevention program aimed to prevent bullying behaviors among middle school-aged youth. Message content is based upon the social-emotional learning model.
Placebo Comparator: Healthy lifestyle control	Behavioral: Attention-matched control The attention-matched control will receive the messages for the same number of days as the intervention. Content will talk about 'healthy lifestyle' topics, such as fitness and healthy social media use.

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

Experimental: BullyDown intervention

Behavioral: BullyDown

BullyDown is an 8 week, text messaging-based prevention program aimed to prevent bullying behaviors among middle school-aged youth. Message content is based upon the social-emotional learning model.

Placebo Comparator: Healthy lifestyle control

Behavioral: Attention-matched control

The attention-matched control will receive the messages for the same number of days as the intervention. Content will talk about 'healthy lifestyle' topics, such as fitness and healthy social media use.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Feasibility of the intervention [Through study completion, anticipated to be 1 year]
Recruitment and enrollment rates
Acceptability of the intervention [Intervention end, 8 weeks after program enrollment]
Positive program appraisal

Other Outcome Measures

Relatively lower rates of bullying perpetration in the intervention versus control group [In the past 30 days at 3-months post-randomzied controlled trial (RCT) end]
Bullying other youth the same age
Relatively lower rates of aggressive behavior in the intervention versus control group [In the past 30 days at 3-months post-RCT end]
Youth who report aggressive acts that do not meet the definition of bullying
Relatively higher rates of bystanding behavior in the intervention versus control group [In the past 30 days at 3-months post-RCT end]
Intervening when a youth sees others being bullied as measured by the University of Illinois Willingness to Intervene scale

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

N/A and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

7th or 8th grade
English speaking
Own their own cell phone
Home internet
Provide informed assent

Exclusion Criteria:

Non-English speakers
Unable to read the screener
Know someone else in the RCT
Know they are not on an unlimited text messaging plan

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	Center for Innovative Public Health Research	San Clemente	California	United States	92672-6745
2	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill	North Carolina	United States	27599-2100

Sponsors and Collaborators

Center for Innovative Public Health Research
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Investigators

None specified.

Study Documents (Full-Text)

Informed Consent Form - Apr 5, 2023

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

Center for Innovative Public Health Research

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT06017050

Other Study ID Numbers:

R21HD104369

First Posted:

Aug 30, 2023

Last Update Posted:

Aug 30, 2023

Last Verified:

Aug 1, 2023

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Bullying

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Aug 30, 2023