Summary

• ObjectivesBullying and cyberbullying bring adverse physical and psychological impacts on individuals and an economic burden for society. Scholars have developed anti-bullying intervention programs to combat these problems. This meta-analysis aims to examine and compare the effectiveness of digital health interventions (DHIs) in reducing bullying and cyberbullying.• MethodA comprehensive search was conducted using databases (PsycINFO, Social Service Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, MEDLINE, ERIC, and EMBASE). Quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before 31 January 2021 that reported the effects of DHIs in reducing bullying or cyberbullying were included.• Results(1) The 16 studies included in the synthesis reported overall random effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for bullying and cyberbullying reduction were 0.41 and 0.19, respectively. (2) The overall random effect size was 0.28 at post-intervention, which was comparable to the effect sizes of traditional face-to-face interventions.(3) The subgroup analysis revealed that the critical components of effective DHIs include training on bystander and bully–victim dual roles, coping skills, and interactive serious games: The effect sizes on bullying bystander were significantly larger than the other groups (d=.51); The largest effect size was intervention on cyberbullying knowledge (d = 0.56);Digital interventions tended to be more effective in empathy improvement in cyberbullying interventions, and coping skills improvement in bullying interventions;The critical components of effective digital interventions include training on bystander and bully–victim dual roles, coping skills, interactive serious games and online forums, and one- to 6-month intervention duration• ConclusionsIt highlights the promising effects of digital health approaches in bullying and cyberbullying interventions. Our review identifies avenues for future research on the development of more effective DHIs to reduce bullying and cyberbullying. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Meta-Analysis, Bullying and Cyberbullying, Digital Health Interventions, Effectiveness

Summary

Background: The increasing use of social networking sites has increased the efficiency of social interactions but inevitably contributed to the risk of cyberbullying. Despite evidence of the effectiveness of offline intervention programs for cyberbullying, few have examined online interventions, especially in the Chinese context. Objective: This study aims to develop and validate an innovative Game-based Intervention for School- and Cyberbullying for Children (GISCC), which combines training on psychosocial and behavioral components with interactive role-play games. Participants and setting: A randomized trial method was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the GISCC intervention, comprising 105 Chinese adolescents who were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 55) and control (n = 50) groups. Methods: Independent sample t-test, paired-samples t-test, ANCOVA, and MANCOVA were used to test the differences in the trained components before and after the intervention. Results: The results showed that the GISCC intervention significantly reduced cyberbullying behaviors (F = 37.50, p < 0.001), violence intentions (F = 4.95, p < 0.05), and mental health problems (F = 60.28 , p < 0.001); and increased self-efficacy (F = 18.26, p < 0.001), and conflict resolution skills (F = 36.46 , p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our study provided empirical evidence in the Chinese context for digital health intervention approaches for cyberbullying prevention. We also identified the essential components for future research on developing effective digital intervention tools to reduce bullying and cyberbullying.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Digital health, cyberbullying, intervention, effectiveness

Summary

Emerging research about the impact of digital technologies on adolescents increasingly confirms that technology can pose both risks and benefits, and characteristics of the youth and environment mediate the outcomes. Moral panic about potential harms of technology often leads adults toward risk mitigation in the form of removing access to technology, especially for marginalized youth; however, resilience models suggest that youth must have an opportunity to experience and overcome digital risks to develop resilience in the face of future risky situations. According to resilience theory, risk and protective factors mediate disparate outcomes, which present at individual, family, and community levels. Some research suggests that youth who are resilient in other areas of their life also experience fewer stressors when using digital and social technologies such as social media and mobile devices. However, an emerging body of research suggests that resilience in the face of digital stressors requires additional technical and relational literacies.This poster draws from resilience literature, offering a first effort at applying a conceptual definition to the term “digital resilience,” and presents an applied case study to illustrate how adults can work to assess and mitigate digital risks so that youth can benefit from digital affordances. We extend the concept of youth resilience to digital settings and frame the need for future research. We define digital resilience as the ability to successfully adapt to and overcome significant stress, trauma, or tragedy that occurs in virtual, online, or digital spaces. We suggest that a digital resilience framework can help social work practitioners and other helping professionals think about and assess the risk and protective factors associated with a youth’s use of digital and social technologies.  

Keywords (separate with commas)

digital resilience, youth, digital and social technology, social media

Summary

The Grand Challenges for Social Work (GCSW) is a 10-year initiative sponsored by the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) based in the United States to address social problems using the science of social work. This poster will present the results of a scoping review that serves as a mid-point investigation for the GCSW’s challenge of using technology for social good and seeks to understand how social workers contribute to the literature on technology and identify gaps in the scholarship on technology and social work during the first five years of the GCSW Initiative.  We mapped the breadth and depth of existing literature published by social workers about technology between 2015 and 2019. Overall, we found a clear pattern that social work researchers were contributing to the scholarship on technology-mediated interventions and found evidence that technology had positive or helpful outcomes on work with client systems. Most research contributions to the literature on technology by social work researchers were interdisciplinary, often using the lens of other professions to frame and assess the research. Research gaps identified included a lack of social work scholarship outside of North America; low levels of collaboration with computer sciences, engineering, product design, and human-computer interaction specialists; and high levels of observational research, which is less rigorous, possibly affecting the GCSW's goal of using technology to make a social impact.  We will share details about the results of this review and offer several directions to explore for future work related to digital and social technologies in social work practice.  While our findings demonstrate that research gives a promising outlook for harnessing technology for social good, we also see numerous opportunities for future research beyond addressing the gaps identified in this review. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

social and digital technologies, technology, Grand Challenges for Social Work 

Summary

This poster aims to examine the utilization of ChatGPT and other chatbots in the field of social work. We explore how these AI-powered conversational agents can serve as valuable tools for social work students and professionals when used appropriately, while also acknowledging the ethical dilemmas they can present when used inappropriately.As the demand for innovative technologies grows, social work must adapt to and leverage the benefits of AI, including chatbots. ChatGPT, one of the most commonly-used large language models, can support social workers by providing instant access to a vast repository of knowledge and resources. These chatbots can enhance understanding of theoretical frameworks, intervention strategies, and ethical considerations through interactive and engaging conversations, and can assist in clinical decision-making, and case formulation, thus improving the efficiency and effectiveness of social work practice.However,  chatbot use in social work raises important ethical considerations. Chatbots sometimes “hallucinate,” making up “facts” that seem plausible but are not actually true.  They can circumvent critical thinking when relied upon.  They may be inappropriate when making practice decisions that rely on the substantive knowledge of the clinician. This poster highlights key questions that educators and social workers should ask to ensure ethical decision-making. We address questions such as: What are the appropriate uses of chatbots in social work?How can chatbots complement, rather than replace, the essential qualities of human connection and empathy?What measures can be implemented to ensure data privacy and security?How can we ensure that chatbots are inclusive and culturally sensitive to diverse populations?What are the potential biases and limitations of chatbots, and how can they be mitigated?Social work educators and professionals can navigate the ethical challenges to harness the potential benefits of chatbots in their practice, ultimately enhancing the delivery of social work services and improving client outcomes.

Keywords (separate with commas)

AI, chatbots, Chatgpt, technology, social work, innovation, futures, education, ethics