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

Developing a Bullying Prevention Program That Transcends Physical Boundaries

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bullying
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: BullyDown; Behavioral: Attention-matched control

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 138
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • San Clemente, California, United States, 92672-6745
      • Center for Innovative Public Health Research
  • North Carolina
    • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, 27599-2100
      • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Participants will: be enrolled in one of our partner schools, be in middle school (i.e., 7th or 8th grade) or between the ages of 12-14 years of age, be English-speaking, own their own cell phone, intend to have the same cell phone number for at least 3 months (this may or may not apply, depending on the number of youth who meet this criterion), and provide informed written assent. Non-English speakers and youth who do not have the reading ability to complete the screener are not eligible. Youth recruited from schools will also be required to have parental permission.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility: Recruitment Rate	If at least 75% of eligible participants assent to participate, this will be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility. Note that a youth could assent and not be randomized if they did not complete the baseline survey.	Recruitment period
Acceptability of the Intervention	Youth were asked: "How likely are you to recommend BullyDown to other people your age?" Answers were collected on a 5-point Likert scale. The response option ranged from 1-5, with higher values reflecting greater acceptability. An average score of 4 or higher was deemed supportive of program acceptability.	Intervention end, 9 weeks after program enrollment
Feasibility: Retention at 3-month Follow-up	A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed to be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility	21 weeks post-randomization, 3 months after the 9-week program ended

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Feasibility: Retention Rate at Program End	A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility.	9 weeks post-randomization

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rates of Bullying Perpetration in the Intervention Versus Control Group	Bullying behaviors towards other youth the same age 3 or more times in the past 30 days	Reported bullying perpetration behavior in the past 30 days at the end of the 9 week program
Rates of Aggressive Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group	Youth who report aggressive acts towards others 1-2 times in the past 30 days	Reported aggressive behavior in the past 30 days at the end of the 9 week program
Scores of Bystanding Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group	Bystander intentions are measured using the 5-item University of Illinois Willingness to Intervene scale. Each of the items is measured on a 4-point Likert scale, resulting in a sum that ranges from 5 - 20. A higher score reflects a greater willingness to intervene.	Responses provided at the program end survey, 9 weeks after they were randomized

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Center for Innovative Public Health Research
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 15, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 3, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): June 3, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 16, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 30, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 5, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 2, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Aggression; Behavior; Social Behavior; Harassment, Non-Sexual; Bullying
• Other Study ID Numbers: R21HD104369 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No