Dramatic Play and Bullying Behaviors in Preschool Children (DRAMA-BULLY)

April 21, 2026 updated by: Devran ATALAY ÖZKILIÇ, Ataturk University

The Effect of Dramatic Play on Bullying Behaviors in Preschool Children

This study aims to examine the effect of dramatic play-based activities on bullying behaviors in preschool children; and to evaluate the effects of these activities on empathy levels and social interaction skills, thereby revealing the moderating role of individual and environmental factors in this relationship.

The hypothesis of the research is as follows. H1: Dramatic play has an effect on bullying behaviors in preschool children.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The research will be conducted with all students (3-6 years old) attending a kindergarten affiliated with the Bitlis Provincial Directorate who meet the inclusion criteria. The study will begin with a video animation presentation for preliminary information; this will be followed by dramatic play-based activities aimed at reducing bullying behaviors and supporting empathy and social interaction skills, implemented over 10 weeks. Data will be collected using the "Introductory Information Form," the "Preschool Peer Bullying Scale (Teacher Form)," and the "Bully and Victim Child Behavior Assessment Form."

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

45

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being in the 3-6 age group
  • No learning difficulties
  • No communication problems
  • Speaking Turkish
  • No chronic illnesses
  • Suitable/willing to work in a group

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Child receiving a chronic diagnosis
  • Child leaving school
  • Desire to leave work
  • Child not adapting to group work

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: dramatic play application
In this group, dramatic play activities aimed at reducing bullying behaviors will be implemented for preschool children.
Behavioral: dramatic play intervention
A dramatic play program will be implemented to reduce bullying behaviors in preschool children. The intervention will consist of structured dramatic play activities aimed at developing social interaction, empathy, and problem-solving skills, and will be implemented over a period of 10 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Identification Information Form
Time Frame: 1 Week
The form was prepared based on the researchers' previous experiences and the literature to determine the demographic characteristics of the children who constitute the sample of the study. The form contains a total of 11 items to determine information such as the child's age, gender, parental status, family structure, number of siblings, parental education and father's occupation, and duration of preschool education.
1 Week
Preschool Peer Bullying Scale Teacher Form
Time Frame: 1 Week
The scale, prepared by Besnili (2019) to investigate peer bullying behaviors among students, is a 14-item, 5-point Likert scale. This scale is completed by the classroom teacher, considering all students in the class. The draft form, initially prepared with 28 items, was reduced to 14 items as a result of the analyses. Scale development was carried out using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. For the Exploratory Factor Analysis, data were collected from 279 preschool teachers. In the exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated as .85 for the physical/relational bullying dimension, .79 for the verbal bullying dimension, and .88 for the entire scale. In the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the other stage of the scale development study, data were collected from 247 different preschool teachers, and in this analysis, the Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated as .83 for the physical/relational bullyin
1 Week
Bully and Victim Child Behavior Assessment Form
Time Frame: 1 Week
The scale is a measurement tool developed by Özyürek and Kurnaz (2019) to identify bullying, victimizing, and passive bullying behaviors in children in early childhood, based on teachers' observations of children. The scale consists of 32 items in total, with 3 separate dimensions and 13, 14, and 15 items in each dimension. For each item, the teacher must mark one of the "yes" and "no" options that best suit the child they are observing. Answers are scored as (1) for yes and (0) for no. The scale consists of three sub-dimensions: bullying child behaviors, victimizing child behaviors, and passive bullying child behaviors. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale are 0.86 for bullying child behaviors, 0.88 for victimizing child behaviors, and 0.71 for passive bullying child behaviors (Özyürek and Kurnaz, 2019). The sub-dimensions are expressed in the findings section as Bully Child (BCC), Victim Child (VC), and Passive Bully Child (PCC) Behaviors.
1 Week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Preschool Peer Bullying Scale Teacher Form
Time Frame: 10 Week
The scale, prepared by Besnili (2019) to investigate peer bullying behaviors among students, is a 14-item, 5-point Likert scale. This scale is completed by the classroom teacher, considering all students in the class. The draft form, initially prepared with 28 items, was reduced to 14 items as a result of the analyses. Scale development was carried out using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. For the Exploratory Factor Analysis, data were collected from 279 preschool teachers. In the exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated as .85 for the physical/relational bullying dimension, .79 for the verbal bullying dimension, and .88 for the entire scale. In the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the other stage of the scale development study, data were collected from 247 different preschool teachers, and in this analysis, the Cronbach's Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated as .83 for the physical/relational bullyin
10 Week
Bully and Victim Child Behavior Assessment Form
Time Frame: 10 Week
The scale is a measurement tool developed by Özyürek and Kurnaz (2019) to identify bullying, victimizing, and passive bullying behaviors in children in early childhood, based on teachers' observations of children. The scale consists of 32 items in total, with 3 separate dimensions and 13, 14, and 15 items in each dimension. For each item, the teacher must mark one of the "yes" and "no" options that best suit the child they are observing. Answers are scored as (1) for yes and (0) for no. The scale consists of three sub-dimensions: bullying child behaviors, victimizing child behaviors, and passive bullying child behaviors. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale are 0.86 for bullying child behaviors, 0.88 for victimizing child behaviors, and 0.71 for passive bullying child behaviors (Özyürek and Kurnaz, 2019). The sub-dimensions are expressed in the findings section as Bully Child (BCC), Victim Child (VC), and Passive Bully Child (PCC) Behaviors.
10 Week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Ataturk University

Investigators

  • Study Director: fatma güdücü tüfekci, Ataturk University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 29, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

March 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 28, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 21, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ATATURKU-HF-DAÖ-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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