The effectiveness of a psychoeducation programme based on the theory of planned behaviour in increasing adolescents' awareness of interaction with strangers in the environment

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of a structured psychoeducation programme that aims to increase adolescents' awareness of their interactions with online strangers. The study was quantitatively designed and conducted using a quasi-experimental model based on pretest-posttest-follow-up measurements. The study group consisted of 48 secondary school students who were identified as having high levels of interaction with online strangers. The participants were divided into three groups of 16 students as experimental, placebo and control groups. The experimental group received an eight-session psychoeducation programme developed by the researcher. A single session seminar was given to the placebo group. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data were collected through the Personal Information Form (PIF) and the Interaction with Strangers on the Internet Scale (IISIS) prepared by the researcher. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0 package programme. In the analysis process, descriptive statistics, One-Way Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Variance for Repeated Measures and Bonferroni post hoc test were used to determine significant differences. In addition, the equality of covariance matrices, one of the multivariate statistical assumptions, was examined with Box-M statistics, and the equality of variances was evaluated using Levene's test. The findings of the study revealed that there was a statistically significant and permanent decrease in the levels of interaction with online strangers in the experimental group from the pretest to the follow-up test in the short and medium term. In the placebo group, there was no significant change between the measurements and interaction levels remained largely constant. In the control group, an increase in interaction levels with online strangers was observed over time, especially in the follow-up test. In general, the findings revealed that the psychoeducation programme had a significant and sustainable effect on the interaction behaviours with online strangers. It shows that psychoeducation-based intervention programmes can be effective in developing adolescents' skills to cope with digital risks and to exhibit conscious digital behaviours.