Empathic Skills Training As a Means of Reducing Cyberbullying among Adolescents: An Empirical Evaluation

Ashraf Atta M. S. Salem (), Amthal H. Al-Huwailah, Mahfouz Abdelsattar, Nadiah A. H. Al-Hamdan, Esraa Derar, Sheikhah Alazmi, Mosaad Abu Al-Diyar and Mark D. Griffiths
Additional contact information
Ashraf Atta M. S. Salem: College of Management Sciences, Sadat Academy for Management Sciences, Alexandria 21578, Egypt
Amthal H. Al-Huwailah: College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait P.O. Box 68168, Kuwait
Mahfouz Abdelsattar: Hurghada Faculty of Education, South Valley University, Hurghada 84511, Egypt
Nadiah A. H. Al-Hamdan: College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait P.O. Box 68168, Kuwait
Esraa Derar: Hurghada Faculty of Education, South Valley University, Hurghada 84511, Egypt
Sheikhah Alazmi: Evaluation and Testing Unit, Ministry of Eduction, Qurain P.O. Box 47041, Kuwait
Mosaad Abu Al-Diyar: Department of Psychology, College of Arts, Suez University, Suez 43533, Egypt
Mark D. Griffiths: International Gaming Research Unit, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: Cyberbullying is a form of aggression in which electronic communication such as e-mails, mobile phone calls, text messages, instant messenger contacts, photos, social networking sites and personal webpages are used to threaten or intimidate individuals. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) counselling based on empathic training may reduce cyberbullying among adolescents. The present study investigated the impact of developing empathy skills in reducing cyberbullying among a sample of adolescents using two groups (i.e., an experimental group and control group). The experimental group received counselling intervention based on CBT with special focus on improving empathy whereas the control group received CBT general counselling. The participants comprised 217 adolescents (experimental group = 98 adolescents, control group = 119 adolescents) with a mean age of 15.1 years (SD ± 1.5). The measures included the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) and the Bullying, Cyberbullying Scale for Adolescents (BCS-A). Results showed that there were statistically significant differences on TEQ scores and BCS-A scores in the experimental and control groups after the intervention but more so in favor of the experimental group in terms of reduced levels of cyberbullying (both victimization and perpetration). Positive gains among the experimental group in both empathy and reduced cyberbullying remained at two-month follow-up. It is recommended that teachers and school counselors tackling cyberbullying should use empathy training as part of their cyberbullying prevention programs.

Keywords: empathic skills training; cyberbullying; cognitive-behavioral counselling; adolescents; empirical evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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