Clinical trial NCT06040437: Be-Prox. An Effectiveness Study of Bullying Intervention in Norwegian Kindergartens.
Official title: Be-Prox. An Effectiveness Study of Bullying Intervention in Norwegian Kindergartens.
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Bullying of Child
Keywords: Early Childhood and Educational Care
Norway
Bullying intervention
Randomized controlled trial
Lead sponsor: NORCE Norwegian Research Centre AS
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: University of Tromso
name: Bjørnafjorden municipality
name: Narvik municipality
First posted: 2023-09-15
Enrollment: 2500
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 3
Maximum age (years): 6
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Cluster-randomized controlled trial
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: With an overall aim to ensure a safe and sound kindergarten environment for all Norwegian children in accordance with the Kindergarten Act §§41-43, the objectives of the current project are:

To evaluate the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway to prevent and handle negative behavior and bullying among peers in Norwegian kindergartens.

To examine implementation factors that promote and inhibit the effectiveness of Be-Prox Norway in Norwegian kindergartens.

To describe the cost-effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway intervention in Norwegian kindergartens.

To generate knowledge on how the Be-Prox Norway intervention can be aligned and implemented in Norwegian kindergartens.

Detailed description: January 1st, 2021, new additions to the Kindergarten Act came into force in Norway introducing the right for all children to a safe and sound kindergarten environment. According to this act, Norwegian kindergartens shall systematically work to preventing bullying and social exclusion, including adopting a zero-tolerance for violations such as exclusion, bullying, violence, discrimination, and harassment. While relatively little is known about bullying at this age, a growing body of research suggests that bullying occurs also between kindergarten peers and that experiencing bullying at early age is associated with negative consequences.

Currently there are few evidence-based interventions directly targeting bullying among kindergarten peers. Be-Prox, developed for Swiss kindergartens to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying in kindergartens have been translated and adjusted to a Norwegian context in a previous pilot study.

The current project is a close collaboration between two Norwegian municipalities, regional centres for child and youth mental health and welfare, and research and educational institutions.

The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Be-Prox Norway in a cluster randomized controlled trial, including process and implementation evaluation and cost-effectiveness analyses. Hence the project complies with the current call through introducing research on tools, systems and models that promote evidence-based practices in Norwegian kindergartens in general, and to prevent negative acts and bullying between kindergarten peers in particular.

If proven effective, Be-Prox Norway can be offered to kindergartens nationwide as evidence-based practice to prevent, uncover and handle negative behavior and bullying among Norwegian kindergarten peers.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Children born 2018-2020 in kindergartens enrolled to the Be-Prox project and with parental consent to participate.
* Personnel i Norwegian kindergartens enrolled in the Be-Prox project and who consent to participate.
* Parents of children in kindergartens enrolled to the Be-prox project

Exclusion Criteria:

* children born 2021-2023
* children with no parental consent to participate

Primary outcomes:
measure: Total number of negative acts children have been exposed to by peers the last months post intervention.
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Total number of negative acts children have exposed peers to the last month post intervention.
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Change in number of children being exposed to negative acts overall "2-3 times a months" or more post intervention
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Change in number of children exposing other children to negative acts overall "2-3 times a month" or more.
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Child prosocial bystander behavior post intervention
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Change in Authoritative climate, post intervention
timeFrame: The last month post Scorers are asked to use "the 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts, 1 and 2 years after post intervention
measure: Change in personnel self-efficacy beliefs, post intervention
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Change in personnel understanding of bullying among children in kindergartens
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Specific negative acts the child has been exposed to the last month
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Specific negative acts the child has exposed peers to the last month
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Total number of negative acts children have been exposed to by peers the last
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
measure: Total number of negative acts children have exposed peers to the last month post
timeFrame: Scorers are asked to use "the last 4 weeks" as the time frame for their registration of the negative acts
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bergen
country: Norway
facility: NORCE Norwegian Research Center
city: Narvik
country: Norway
facility: Narvik municipality
city: Os
country: Norway
facility: Bjørnafjorden municipality
city: Tromsø
country: Norway
facility: University of Tromsø
Study officials:
affiliation: NORCE Norwegian Research Center
name: Ingrid Kvestad, Dr
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: