EMBRACE YOUR POWER
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Embrace Your Power: A VR Journey to Overcome Negative Emotions.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Bullying, Distress, Bullying Victimisation. Basic parameters: 10 years — 14 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Romania
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Embrace Your Power: A VR Journey to Overcoming Negative Emotions for Romanian Youth
Overview
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test the effectiveness of an educational tool, based on virtual reality (VR), for preventing and combating bullying and for improving the emotional well-being of pre-adolescent students. Participants will be allocated to one of two conditions: * (1) intervention group: Embrace your power intervention for combating bullying; * (2) waitlist (inactive control): the control group receives intervention after the study ends. The intervention group will be compared to the control group in terms of peer aggression and victimization (bullying behaviors) and emotional symptoms.
Detailed description
This protocol outlines a cluster, parallel-group, exploratory, randomized controlled trial where participants are randomly allocated to one of the two groups: intervention or control.
* The main objective is to implement and assess the effectiveness of the program for combating bullying through virtual reality. The program aims to reduce victimization and bullying behaviors (physical, verbal, and relational aggression) by applying the APRI tool as a result of participating in VR scenarios that simulate these situations and to reduce emotional difficulties and behavioral problems, as well as increase prosocial behavior. * The included classes will serve as the randomization units. Students aged between 10 and 14 years, (5th and 6th grades from middle schools) will participate in the study. The intervention will last 7 weeks, and the two groups will be assessed at (1) pre-intervention (baseline), (2) middle of the intervention (week 3 or 4), and (3) post-intervention. The data analysis will focus on improvement in outcomes between and within groups.
Interventions
- Behavioral Embrace Your Power: A VR Journey to Overcome Negative Emotions
EYP-VR represents a virtual reality (VR) educational tool to combat bullying. Using Meta Quest 3 passthrough technology, the app combines real-world classroom elements with immersive virtual scenarios, enabling safe and interactive experiences that simulate bullying situations but that do not place students in the roles of victims or aggressors but heroes or protectors. The app guides participants through narrative episodes focused on building empathy, practicing assertiveness, and learning con
Primary outcome measures
- Bullying behaviors [Time frame: Pre-intervention (baseline), middle intervention, post-intervention (week 7)]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- Emotional symptoms [Time frame: Pre-intervention (baseline), middle intervention, post-intervention (week 7)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Students 5th and 6th grade
- Students whose parents have given their consent and who have also agreed to participate in the program
Exclusion criteria
- Medical problems that have VR-based procedures as contraindicated because they can induce dizziness, seizures, nausea:
- epilepsy
- presence of seizures
- severe motion sickness- vestibular disorders
- significant vision problems that would interfere with the use of the headset
- severe migraines triggered by exposure to screens
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Autism spectrum disorder- level 3 of severity or sensory processing disorders
- ADHD, if hyperactivity would prevent the student from staying in the exercise for longer
- Points a) and b) do not represent automatic exclusion criteria, because depending on the judgment of the school counselor, the parent and the teacher, it is possible that a participant will be able to complete the program.
- Severe mental disorders: psychotic spectrum disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, present suicidal ideation
- If children have an extremely low level of literacy perceived by the teacher and counselor, and this aspect would prevent them from participating in the program.
- Parallel participation in other bullying prevention programs.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
Study locations
Romania · 1 center
- University of Bucharest — Bucharest
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07148219 · 09242025