How to Stop Victims’ Suffering? Indirect Effects of an Anti-Bullying Program on Internalizing Symptoms

Victims of bullying and cyberbullying present internalizing problems, such as anxiety, psychosomatic and depressive symptoms, and are at higher risk of considering or attempting suicide. Researchers have put great effort into developing interventions able to stop bullying and cyberbullying, and thus buffering possible negative consequences. Despite this, only a few of them have investigated the effects of these programs on the psychological suffering of the victims. The NoTrap! program is an Italian evidence-based intervention able to reduce victimization, bullying, cybervictimization and cyberbullying. The aim of the present study is to analyze whether the NoTrap! program can reduce internalizing symptoms through the decrease in both victimization and cybervictimization. Participants were 622 adolescents, enrolled in the 9th grade of eight high schools in Tuscany (experimental group: N = 451; control group: N = 171). We collected data at three time points: pre-, mid- and post-intervention. Using latent growth curve models, we found that the program significantly predicted the change in internalizing symptoms over time. Furthermore, the mediation model showed that only the indirect effect via cybervictimization was significant. In summary, the program reduced internalizing symptoms within the experimental group successfully, through the decrease in cybervictimization more so than through the mediational effect of decreasing victimization.