- Participation in the nursing-led emotional education programme was followed by reduced bullying involvement in participating primary schools.
- Self-esteem and perceived emotional intelligence remained broadly stable; no clear pretest-posttest changes were observed.
- At posttest higher self-esteem, emotional clarity, and emotional repair were inversely associated with bullying involvement, but causality cannot be inferred from the uncontrolled design.
Nurs Open. 2026 Oct;13(10):e70940. doi: 10.1002/nop2.70940.
ABSTRACT
AIM: To examine longitudinal changes in bullying involvement, self-esteem, and perceived emotional intelligence following participation in a mental health nursing-led emotional education programme among primary school children.
DESIGN: Multicentre, longitudinal, non-randomized, uncontrolled quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study.
METHODS: The study was conducted in 5 public primary schools in Madrid, Spain. A total of 507 students in fourth to sixth grade completed baseline assessment and 345 completed follow-up. The programme included five student sessions, 2 parent sessions, and one teacher session. Bullying involvement, self-esteem, and perceived emotional intelligence were assessed using self-report instruments. Pretest-posttest analyses used valid matched observations for each outcome, complemented by exploratory posttest association analyses.
RESULTS: Bullying involvement decreased from pretest to posttest. No clear pretest-posttest changes were observed in self-esteem, emotional attention, emotional clarity, or emotional repair. At posttest, higher self-esteem, emotional clarity, and emotional repair were inversely associated with bullying involvement. These concurrent associations were interpreted as non-causal.
CONCLUSION: Participation in the programme was followed by reduced bullying involvement, while self-esteem and perceived emotional intelligence remained broadly stable. The uncontrolled design precludes causal attribution.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: School nurses and mental health nurses may contribute to bullying prevention through health education, early identification of psychosocial vulnerability, emotional support, and coordination with families and teachers.
IMPACT: The study addresses nursing involvement in school-based bullying prevention. Bullying involvement decreased, while other psychosocial outcomes remained stable. The findings may inform nursing practice and future controlled evaluations in primary schools.
REPORTING METHOD: Reporting was guided by the Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs statement.
NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Students, parents, and teachers participated in the intervention and data collection but were not involved in study design, analysis, interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
PMID:42949835 | DOI:10.1002/nop2.70940
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