Educational games improve continuous outcomes for school bullying and cyberbullying with small pooled effects
Photo by National Cancer Institute / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Consider educational games for bullying prevention, noting effects diminish by three to six months without boosters.
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the impact of educational games on school bullying and cyberbullying within classroom-based settings on PC or web platforms. The analysis included 34 studies comparing these interventions against usual-care conditions, other active programs, or no-intervention controls. Immediate post-intervention assessment and follow-up at three to six months were utilized for data collection.
Pooled analysis indicated small and statistically significant improvements for continuous outcomes, with a Hedges' g of 0.14 and a 95% CI of 0.02 to 0.26. Emotional outcomes demonstrated the largest pooled gains among the measured categories. In contrast, cognitive and behavioural effects were smaller and did not reach statistical significance. Completion rates for the educational games were higher than those observed in no-intervention controls.
The authors noted that effects tended to diminish by three to six months without booster components. No tested moderator reached statistical significance. Safety data, including adverse events and discontinuations, were not reported. The review suggests that while educational games outperformed usual-care conditions and showed higher completion rates, the clinical certainty regarding long-term efficacy remains limited by the observed decay in effects over time.
View Original Abstract ↓
Bullying harms learning and wellbeing, and schools increasingly use digital games as part of their response. This PRISMA-guided systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized 34 studies on educational games for school bullying and cyberbullying intervention. Ten randomized trials passed risk-of-bias screening; nine contributed continuous outcomes to the primary meta-analysis. The pooled effect was small and statistically significant (Hedges' g = 0.14, 95% CI [0.02, 0.26]) and remained stable across sensitivity analyses. Effects were observed at immediate post-intervention assessment and tended to diminish by three to six months without booster components. Among outcome domains, emotional outcomes showed the largest pooled gains, while cognitive and behavioural effects were smaller and did not reach statistical significance. Educational games outperformed usual-care conditions, were comparable to other active programs, and showed higher completion rates than no-intervention controls. Implementation was predominantly classroom-based on PC/web platforms and targeted whole student cohorts rather than role- or risk-defined groups. Common design features included role-based scenarios, branching decisions, immediate feedback, and structured reflection. No tested moderator reached statistical significance. Future trials should pre-specify maintenance strategies, adopt role-sensitive recruitment, use well-matched active comparators, and report design and implementation features with greater precision.
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