A Game-Based GISCC 2.0 Education System for Cyberbullying Prevention for Chinese Preadolescents, Parents, and Teachers: Preliminary Evidence of Effectiveness (Preprint)

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Abstract
BACKGROUND Cyberbullying threatens children’s mental health and social well‑being. Traditional programs often operate in isolation that fail to engage parents and teachers. Immersive, gamified simulations offer a novel approach by enabling multi-stakeholder participation within a unified framework. OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the efficacy of a gamified cyberbullying prevention education platform Game-based Intervention for School- and Cyberbullying for Children (GISCC 2.0) and examined dose-response relationships between game engagement and outcomes. METHODS A three-arm randomized controlled trial design was employed with 222 students randomly assigned to: Group A (Student+Parent Game, n=72 dyads), Group B (Student Game Only, n=76), and Group C (Control, n=74). 6 teachers also participated with the teacher-specific game modules. Primary outcome included internet self-efficacy, and secondary outcomes included coping intention, parent-child communication, and perceived peer pressure. Process data were measured via completed storylines and achieved scores in the game. Analyses included intention-to-treat ANCOVAs controlling for baseline scores, gender, and age, with dose-response analyses for engagement. RESULTS Both intervention groups showed significantly greater improvements than controls in internet self-efficacy (η²=.23, p<.001) and coping intention (η²=.17, p<.001), with no differences between the two intervention conditions. Medium effects were also found for parent-child communication (η²=.07, p=.001). No significant effect was observed for perceived peer pressure. Game storylines completion correlated with post-test self-efficacy (r=.28, p<.01) and coping intention (r=.26, p<.01). Parents demonstrated a large increase in coping intention (d=1.86), and teachers showed positive trends across all measures. CONCLUSIONS The gamified intervention robustly enhanced cyberbullying-related coping and confidence among students, primarily through direct digital engagement, with additional parallel benefits for parents and teachers. GISCC 2.0 demonstrates a scalable, digitally integrated framework for schools to address cyberbullying, allowing flexible home and staff involvement while prioritizing high-fidelity student engagement for maximal impact.

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