Effectiveness of a multicomponent school based intervention to reduce bullying among adolescents in Chandigarh, North India: A quasi-experimental study protocol

BACKGROUND: Bullying perpetration and victimization is associated with significant academic, psychosocial and health related problems among adolescents. There is a need to develop effective interventions to prevent bullying among adolescents, especially in low and middle income countries. This paper presents the study protocol to develop, and evaluate the effect of multi-component school based prevention program for bullying in India. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental study. METHODS: The study will be conducted among 846 students of grade 7(th) and 8(th) in the intervention and control schools in Chandigarh, Union Territory, North India. A government and a private school will be selected purposively in each of the intervention and control arm. The intervention is based on socio-ecological model, and will be administered at individual, relationship (parents and teachers) and school level. The primary study outcome will be the proportion of students experiencing any kind of bullying (bullying, victimization, or both), in each study arm. The effectiveness of the intervention will be measured by performing difference in difference analysis and generalized estimating equations. EXPECTED IMPACT FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: Bullying is an aggressive behaviour with significant morbidities, including psychological or physical trauma, affecting individuals not only in their adolescence, but also later in their adulthood. This quasi-experimental study is expected to provide evidence on whether multi-component bullying prevention intervention program, can reduce the burden of bullying perpetration and victimization among school adolescents in India. The results of the study will add in the exiting literature on bullying intervention program, especially, from the low middle-income countries, as there are limited studies available on this topic in these countries.