RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based school bullying prevention program for the adolescent perpetrators of school violence. METHODS: total of 395 middle and high school students (male=316, female=79) were included in this study. The changes after the program were evaluated using several self-rating scales for the assessment of the degree of depression, loneliness, impulsivity, self-esteem, and interpersonal reactivity compared with the baseline scales. RESULTS: The school bullying prevention program significantly reduced the degree of depression severity (t=5.985, p<0.001) and increased the self-esteem (t=-2.67, p=0.008) of the teenagers. This tendency was more pronounced among those teenagers under the age of 16. In the participants with high impulsivity or low empathy at baseline, the impulsivity scale decreased (t=2.617, p=0.009), while the interpersonal reactivity scale increased (t=-3.364, p=0.001) after the program. CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that this CBT-based program developed for the prevention of school bullying can be effective in preventing further school violence. Further research to evaluate the long-term effects of the program is necessary.