The effect of a solution-focused intervention applied to nursing students on cyberbullying

This study was conducted using a randomized controlled experimental research design to determine the effect of a solution-focused intervention applied to nursing students on cyberbullying. Research data were collected between February 23, 2024, and July 2, 2024, among first-,second-,third-,and fourth-year nursing students at a private university in Istanbul. The sample consisted of a total of 42 university students (n=42), including 14 intervention, 14 psychoeducation, and 14 control groups. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form, the Social Media Addiction Scale - Adult Form, and the Cyberbullying Triangle Scale. Frequency tables and descriptive statistics were used to interpret the findings. The "ANOVA" test (F-table value) and "Repeated Measures" test (F-table value) were used for measurement values that followed a normal distribution, while the Kruskal-Wallis H" test (χ2-table value) and "Friedman" test (χ2-table value) were used for measurement values that did not follow a normal distribution. The Pearson-χ2 correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between two qualitative variables, while the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between two quantitative variables that did not follow a normal distribution. As a result of this study, a significant decrease was observed in the sub-dimensions of solution-focused intervention, cyberbullying, cyberbystander, and cybervictimization in the final test and the 1-month follow-up test (p<0.05), while an increase in scores was observed in the 3-month follow-up test (p<0.05). In this regard, the highest eta-squared values emerging in the 3-month measurements (η²=0.637 for cyberbullying; η²=0.601 for cyber victimization) indicate that the effect of the intervention strengthened over time and that the most significant difference emerged in the 3-month follow-up measurements. In order to achieve effective results in combating cyberbullying, it is recommended that intervention programs should be replicable, sustainable, based on school and family cooperation, enriched with ethics-based content, and implemented in structures that are continuously developed with qualitative data. Keywords: Cyberbullying, solution-focused intervention, psychoeducation, university students