Preventing and combating bullying and cyberbullying in schools: The «Ha-Ha!» Nelson project

Elisa Paiero, Fabio Finos, Chiara Savorgnani, Sara Lenardon, Marta Pozzi

In Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, the topic of bullying has gained particular importance in recent times and the need has therefore arisen to create a universal prevention program in schools to respond to the manifestations of this phenomenon, which is becoming more and more frequent, showing itself in increasingly diversified forms. «Ha-Ha!» Nelson was born as a project to prevent bullying and cyberbullying situations aimed at secondary school students in the Pordenone area. In the introduction of the article, a theoretical framework is outlined regarding the issues of bullying and cyberbullying, with particular attention to the analysis of both international and Italian survey data. In the second part, the project is presented in detail, the aims of which are the prevention and reduction of antisocial attitudes and the strengthening of the life skills of the children involved. The course involved 1.107 students; from the results found at the end of the program, the need for adolescents to strengthen some specific personal and social skills emerged through concrete experiences of comparison to reduce and prevent acts of bullying and cyberbullying, bringing attention to the role of each individual actor involved in this phenomenon.

Keywords
Bullying, school, prevention, life skills, adolescence.

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