An interventional study of BullyDown and Attention-matched control in Bullying, sponsored by Center for Innovative Public Health Research. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 12 Years to 14 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-12-05.
Sponsored by Center for Innovative Public Health Research · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Given the limited impact of existing school-based interventions and the time associated with implementing them during school time, more efficient and effective intervention methods are needed. Programs that can be delivered to middle school youth irrespective of whether they are attending school physically or virtually may be especially relevant as school boundaries become more fluid. BullyDown addresses this critical need by providing a scalable program that could be quickly and cost-effectively disseminated nationally.
57 studies on the registry are indexed under Bullying; 9 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 138 is below the median of 228 across 51 interventional studies indexed under Bullying.
Browse Bullying studies →Center for Innovative Public Health Research is the lead sponsor of 13 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Participants will: be enrolled in one of our partner schools, be in middle school (i.e., 7th or 8th grade) or between the ages of 12-14 years of age, be English-speaking, own their own cell phone, intend to have the same cell phone number for at least 3 months (this may or may not apply, depending on the number of youth who meet this criterion), and provide informed written assent. Non-English speakers and youth who do not have the reading ability to complete the screener are not eligible. Youth recruited from schools will also be required to have parental permission.
Behavioral: BullyDown
Behavioral: Attention-matched control
BullyDown is an 8 week, text messaging-based prevention program aimed to prevent bullying behaviors among middle school-aged youth. Message content is based upon the social-emotional learning model.
The attention-matched control will receive the messages for the same number of days as the intervention. Content will talk about 'healthy lifestyle' topics, such as fitness and healthy social media use.
Feasibility: Recruitment Rate
If at least 75% of eligible participants assent to participate, this will be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility. Note that a youth could assent and not be randomized if they did not complete the baseline survey.
Time frame: Recruitment period
Acceptability of the Intervention
Youth were asked: "How likely are you to recommend BullyDown to other people your age?" Answers were collected on a 5-point Likert scale. The response option ranged from 1-5, with higher values reflecting greater acceptability. An average score of 4 or higher was deemed supportive of program acceptability.
Time frame: Intervention end, 9 weeks after program enrollment
Feasibility: Retention at 3-month Follow-up
A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed to be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility
Time frame: 21 weeks post-randomization, 3 months after the 9-week program ended
Feasibility: Retention Rate at Program End
A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility.
Time frame: 9 weeks post-randomization
Rates of Bullying Perpetration in the Intervention Versus Control Group
Bullying behaviors towards other youth the same age 3 or more times in the past 30 days
Time frame: Reported bullying perpetration behavior in the past 30 days at the end of the 9 week program
Rates of Aggressive Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group
Youth who report aggressive acts towards others 1-2 times in the past 30 days
Time frame: Reported aggressive behavior in the past 30 days at the end of the 9 week program
Scores of Bystanding Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group
Bystander intentions are measured using the 5-item University of Illinois Willingness to Intervene scale. Each of the items is measured on a 4-point Likert scale, resulting in a sum that ranges from 5 - 20. A higher score reflects a greater willingness to intervene.
Time frame: Responses provided at the program end survey, 9 weeks after they were randomized
| Milestone | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Started | 71 | 67 |
| Completed | 69 | 66 |
| Not completed | 2 | 1 |
If at least 75% of eligible participants assent to participate, this will be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility. Note that a youth could assent and not be randomized if they did not complete the baseline survey.
| Participants | Overall Number of Participants Recruited |
|---|---|
| Feasibility: Recruitment Rate | 202 |
Youth were asked: "How likely are you to recommend BullyDown to other people your age?" Answers were collected on a 5-point Likert scale. The response option ranged from 1-5, with higher values reflecting greater acceptability. An average score of 4 or higher was deemed supportive of program acceptability.
| Average score on a 5-point likert scale | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptability of the Intervention | 3.7 ± 1.1 | 3.6 ± 1.0 |
A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed to be supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility
| Participants | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Feasibility: Retention at 3-month Follow-up | 48 | 49 |
A retention rate of 80% or higher was deemed supportive of a hypothesis of feasibility.
| Participants | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Feasibility: Retention Rate at Program End | 59 | 56 |
Bullying behaviors towards other youth the same age 3 or more times in the past 30 days
| Participants | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Rates of Bullying Perpetration in the Intervention Versus Control Group | 7 | 7 |
Youth who report aggressive acts towards others 1-2 times in the past 30 days
| Participants | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Rates of Aggressive Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group | 15 | 14 |
Bystander intentions are measured using the 5-item University of Illinois Willingness to Intervene scale. Each of the items is measured on a 4-point Likert scale, resulting in a sum that ranges from 5 - 20. A higher score reflects a greater willingness to intervene.
| units on a scale | BullyDown intervention | Healthy lifestyle control |
|---|---|---|
| Scores of Bystanding Behavior in the Intervention Versus Control Group | 14.7 ± 2.9 | 15.0 ± 3.1 |
Collected over Each participant was followed for 21 weeks. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.
| Group | Deaths | Serious | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| BullyDown intervention | 0/71 (0%) | 0/71 (0%) | 0/71 (0%) |
| Healthy lifestyle control | 0/67 (0%) | 0/67 (0%) | 0/67 (0%) |
| Age, Categorical(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| <=18 years | 71 | 67 | 138 |
| Between 18 and 65 years | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| >=65 years | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sex/Gender, Customized(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | 21 | 16 | 37 |
| Girls | 38 | 41 | 79 |
| Nonbinary youth | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| Declined to answer | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Ethnicity (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 54 | 50 | 104 |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 17 | 14 | 31 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Race (NIH/OMB)(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Asian | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Black or African American | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| White | 41 | 41 | 82 |
| More than one race | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Unknown or Not Reported | 13 | 11 | 24 |
| Bullying perpetration(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of participants | 9 | 11 | 20 |
| Aggression perpetration(Participants) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Count of participants | 24 | 22 | 46 |
| Bystander behavior(units on a scale) | BullyDown Intervention | Healthy Lifestyle Control | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 14.7 ± 2.4 | 15.3 ± 2.7 | 15.0 ± 2.5 |
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Center for Innovative Public Health Research