Trent Consultants News Virtual Reality Games Could Help Bullying Victims

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Trent Consultants News Childrenwho took part in a three-week anti-bullying virtual learning intervention inschools in the UK and Germany showed a 26% decrease in victimisation. In the study, published in The Journal of ChildPsychology and Psychiatry , Maria Sapouna and Professor Dieter Wolke fromWarwick Medical School and the Department of Psychology at the University ofWarwick led a team of researchers to examine the effects of an anti-bullyingvirtual learning intervention called FearNot!   The team recruited 1,129 children aged betweeneight and nine from 27 primary schools across the UK and Germany. They splitthe children into intervention and control groups. The intervention group tookpart in three sessions, interacting individually with the FearNot! software.Each session lasted around 30 minutes over a three-week period. The childrenwere assessed on self-report measures of victimisation before and after theintervention.   The software was a virtual school with 3D pupilswho assumed the roles that children take when bullying occurs, either as thebully, victim or bystander. These characters were then used to improvisereal-life bullying incidents and pupils could interact with the characters andsuggest ways to cope with or resolve the situation. Although the effect wasonly short-term, researchers suggest longer interventions could have a moresustained impact.   Professor Wolke said this was the first study toinvestigate the efficacy of a virtual learning intervention for victims of bullying.He said: "We found that the FearNot! intervention significantly increasedthe probability of victims escaping victimisation, especially among thosechildren who interacted with the characters more and explored the advice. Theeffects we found were only short-term, but we believe a longer termintervention integrated in the curriculum would be more beneficial.   "Our findings suggest for the intervention tobe effective, they need to be of appropriate duration and include boosterepisodes over time. Virtual interventions could be most effective as part of awider anti-bullying curriculum."   Adaptedfrom materials provided by Universityof Warwick .     Trent Consultants News: Trent ConsultantsPsychology Clinic. Dedicated to the study,diagnosis, and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. TrentConsultants has a variety of programs for parents who want to give theirchildren a headstart in life. Trent Consultants website www.trentconsultants.orgEmail: childcare@trentconsultants.org

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