Ergenlerde Siber Zorbalıkla Mücadeleye Yönelik Geliştirilen Mobil Tabanlı Kendine Yardım Uygulamasının Etkililiği

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop a self-help mobile application to enhance adolescents' cyberbullying awareness levels and their prevention and intervention skills in fighting cyberbullying and to compare the effectiveness of the mobile application and the psychoeducation program. To ensure that the content of the mobile application and psychoeducation program reflects the current needs of adolescents, individual interviews were conducted with 15 adolescents. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted to identify the strongest risk and protective factors and outcomes related to cyberbullying in the studies conducted in Türkiye. The content for both the mobile application and psychoeducation program was developed based on the findings of national and international programs aimed at fighting cyberbullying, as well as the qualitative study and meta-analysis. A true experimental study was designed to determine whether the mobile application was more effective than the psychoeducation program, with 75 participants divided into three groups: 25 in the mobile application group, 25 in the psychoeducation group, and 25 in the control group. Additionally, focus group interviews were conducted with the participants in the mobile application group to determine their views on the gamification techniques, games, user interface, and content in the mobile application. The study findings revealed that both the mobile application and the psychoeducation program were effective in increasing adolescents' cyberbullying awareness levels and their prevention and intervention skills and no statistically significant difference between the mobile application and psycho-education program. The study’s findings were discussed considering the relevant literature and presented some theoretical and practical implications.