Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T., Poskiparta, E., Kaljonen, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2011). A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program. Child Development, 82(1), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01557.x

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 8,237

Population:

• Age — 10–12 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 98% Native Finns
• Gender — 50% Female and 50% Male
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–6.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program]. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control conditions. Measures utilized include the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, the Participant Role Questionnaire, and a modified version of the Provictim Scale. Results indicate that after 9 months of implementation, the intervention had consistent beneficial effects on 7 of the 11 dependent variables, including self- and peer-reported victimization and self-reported bullying. The results also indicate that KiVa is effective in reducing school bullying and victimization in Grades 4–6. Limitations include being generalizable only to schools willing to implement an antibullying program, reliance on self-reported measures, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Salmivalli, C., Kärnä, A., & Poskiparta, E. (2011). Counteracting bullying in Finland: The KiVa program and its effects on different forms of being bullied. International Journal for Behavioral Development, 35(5), 405–411. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025411407457

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 5,651

Population:

• Age — Mean=11 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — Not specified
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–6.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to report the effects of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program], on nine different forms of being bullied. Participants were randomly assigned to KiVa treatment group or to a control condition. Measures utilized include the Olweus Bully ⁄Victim Questionnaire. Results indicate that there were positive effects on each form of being bullied that was assessed. After 9 months of intervention, control school students were 1.32–1.94 times as likely to be bullied as students in intervention schools. Limitations include being generalizable only to schools willing to implement an antibullying program, reliance on self-reported measures, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Williford, A., Noland, B., Little, T., Kärnä, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2012). Effects of the KiVa Anti-bullying Program on adolescents' depression, anxiety, and perception of peers. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 40(2), 289–300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-011-9551-1

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 7,741

Population:

• Age — Mean=11.2 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 51% Female and 49% Male
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–6.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program], on students’ anxiety, depression, and perception of peers in Grades 4–6. Furthermore, it was investigated whether reductions in peer-reported victimization predicted changes in these outcome variables. Participants were randomly assigned to either KiVa or control condition. Measures utilized include the Generalized Perception-of-Peers Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Fear of Negative Evaluation, and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale. Results indicate that KiVa anti-bullying program is effective for reducing students’ internalizing problems and improving their peer-group perceptions. Changes in anxiety, depression, and positive peer perceptions were found to be predicted by reductions in victimization. Limitations include that the forms of victimization were not analyzed separately in the current analysis; reliance on self-reported measures; the modified version of the BDI may not have been an adequate measure of depression, which may have resulted in the lack of gender differences found over time for both conditions; and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Williford, A., Elledge, L., Boulton, A., DePaolis, K., Little, T., & Salmivalli, C. (2013). Effects of the KiVa Antibullying Program on cyberbullying and cybervictimization Frequency among Finnish youth. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 42(6), 820–833. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2013.787623

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 339

Population:

• Age — Mean=12.83 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 50% Female
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–9.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program], on the frequency of cyberbullying and cybervictimization among elementary and middle school youth. Participants were randomly assigned to either the KiVa treatment group or to a control condition. Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) and multilevel ordinal regression analyses. Results indicate that there was a significant intervention effect on the frequency of cybervictimization; KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cybervictimization at posttest than students in the control condition. The effect of condition on the perpetration of cyberbullying was moderated by age. When student age was below the sample mean, KiVa students reported lower frequencies of cyber bullying than students in the control condition. In addition, evidence of classroom-level variation in cyberbullying and cybervictimization was also found, suggesting that cyberbullying is in part a classroom-level phenomenon Results suggest that KiVa is an efficacious intervention option for schools concerned with reducing cyber bullying behavior and its deleterious effects on children’s adjustment. Limitations include the use of a single-item measure to account for cybervictimization and cyberbullying rather than a multi-item measure, and lack of generalizability to more ethnically or racially diverse geographic regions or countries.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T. D., Alanen, E., Poskiparta, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2013). Effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program: Grades 1–3 and 7–9. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 535–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030417

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 339

Population:

• Age — Mean=12.83 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 50% Female
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–9.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program]. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Measures utilized include the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) and the Participant Role Questionnaire. Results indicate that after 9 months of implementation, KiVa had beneficial effects in Grades 1–3 on self-reported victimization and bullying, with some differential effects by gender. In Grades 7–9, statistically significant positive results were obtained on 5 of 7 criterion variables but results often depended on gender and sometimes age. The effects were largest for boys’ peer reports: bullying, assisting the bully, and reinforcing the bully. Limitations include there were only posttest data for students in Grades 1 and 7 making it impossible to control for potential preexisting differences between intervention and control conditions, and it weakens the evidence for these grade levels; for students in Grades 1–3, the outcome variables included only self-reports of bullying and victimization; the study did not investigate the effectiveness of KiVa on different forms of victimization and bullying; and finally the results were assessed solely by questionnaire data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Saarento, S., Boulton, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2015). Reducing bullying and victimization: Student- and classroom-level mechanisms of change. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43(1), 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-013-9841-x

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 7,491

Population:

• Age — Mean=12.83 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 50% Male
• Status — Participants were children in Grades 4–9.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to examine the mediating mechanisms by which KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program] based on the Participant Role approach, reduces bullying and victimization among elementary school students. Participants were randomly assigned to KiVa intervention group or to a control group. Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ), the Participant Role Questionnaire, and the Provictim Scale. Results indicate that at the student level, antibullying attitudes and perceptions regarding peers’ defending behaviors and teacher attitudes toward bullying mediated the effects of KiVa on self-reported bullying perpetration. The effects on peer-reported bullying were only mediated by antibullying attitudes. At the classroom level, the program effects on both self- and peer-reported bullying were mediated by students’ collective perceptions of teacher attitudes toward bullying. Also, perceived reinforcing behaviors predicted bullying but did not emerge as a significant mediator. Finally, bullying mediated the effects of the classroom-level factors on victimization. Limitations include age range of the participating students, the limited range of mediator and outcome variables investigated, lack of a reported effect size for the mediated effects, and reliance on self-reported measures.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Yang, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2015). Effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying programme on bully-victims, bullies and victims. Educational Research, 57(1), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2014.983724

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 23,520 (195 Finnish schools)

Population:

• Age — 8–15 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — Not specified
• Status — Participants were second to nineth grade Finnish elementary school students.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program] in reducing the prevalence of bully-victims, compared with those defined as ‘pure bullies’ and ‘pure victims.’ Participants were randomly assigned either to KiVa or to a control condition. Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ), the Participant Role Questionnaire, and measures that addressed perceptions of caring school climate and attitudes towards school. Results indicate that the prevalence changes of bully-victims in intervention schools, in comparison with control schools, were -8% and -41% when identified by self-reports and peer-reports, respectively. Controlling for student gender, school level (primary/secondary) and pretest bullying/victimization status, the odds of being a bully-victim after the intervention year were 1.51 (self-reports) and 1.63 (peer-reports) times higher for a student in a control school, in comparison with a student in an intervention school. Limitations include that only the effect of nine months of the KiVa intervention was evaluated, future studies should employ longer intervention periods so that the effectiveness of interventions can be examined more extensively; a single item for bullying and victimization was used for the identification of bullying/victimization status; reliance on self-reported measures; and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Juvonen, J., Schacter, H., Sainio, M., & Salmivalli, C. (2016). Can a school-wide bullying prevention program improve the plight of victims? Evidence for risk x intervention effects. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(4), 334–344. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000078

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 7,010

Population:

• Age — Mean=11.2 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — 51% Female
• Status — Participants were fourth to sixth grade elementary school students.

Location/Institution: Finland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Kärnä et al. (2011). The purpose of the study was to examine whether KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program] was effective in reducing incidents of bullying, and if it can also reduce the harm associated with victimization. Specifically, the researchers tested whether baseline victimization moderates the KiVa program (intervention) effects on school perceptions, depression, and self-esteem. Participants were randomly assigned to either KiVa intervention group or to the control group. Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (RBDI), and measures that addressed perceptions of caring school climate and attitudes towards school. Results indicate that the KiVa program was particularly effective in facilitating perceptions of a caring school climate among students who were most victimized before the intervention, while program benefits on attitudes toward school did not vary by level of victimization. The intervention effects on depression and self-esteem were also strongest only among the most victimized sixth graders. Limitations include it was not known which of the levels of the intervention are most effective due to the intervention operating in conjunction with classroom lessons, computer games, and teachers intervening in incidents; reliance on self-reported measures; and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Nocentini, A., & Menesini, E. (2016). KiVa anti-bullying program in Italy: Evidence of effectiveness in a randomized control trial. Prevention Science, 17(8), 1012–1023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-016-0690-z

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 2,042

Population:

• Age — 4th Grade: Mean=8.84 years; 6th Grade: Mean=10.93 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 92% Italian
• Gender — 52% Female and 48% Male
• Status — Participants were fourth and sixth grade elementary school students.

Location/Institution: Italy

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program] in Italy. Participants were randomly assigned to the KiVa intervention group or to the control group (usual school provision) Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ), Questionnaire on Attitudes toward Bullying, the Florence Bullying-Victimization Scales, and scales that measured empathy towards the victim. Results indicate that KiVa reduced bullying and victimization and increased pro-victim attitudes and empathy toward the victim in Grade 4. In Grade 6, KiVa reduced bullying, victimization, and pro-bullying attitudes; the effects were smaller as compared to Grade 4, yet significant. Finally, using Olweus dichotomous definition of bullies and victims, results showed that the odds of being a victim were 1.93 times higher for a control student than for a KiVa student in Grade 4. Limitations include generalizable only to Italian schools that are willing to implement an anti-bullying program, and that are from a medium level of risk; data on implementation fidelity was not reported; reliance on self-reported measures; and focus on short-term effects, future studies should evaluate whether effects are going to be stable over a longer period.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Huitsing, G., Lodder, G. M. A., Browne, W. J., Oldenburg, B., Van der Ploeg. R., & Veenstra, R. (2020). A large-scale replication of the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program: A randomized controlled trial in the Netherlands. Prevention Science, 21(5), 627–638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01116-4

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 98 schools (4,383 students)

Population:

• Age — Intervention Group: Mean=8.66 years; Control Group: Mean=8.67 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Intervention group: 79% Dutch, 4% Moroccan, 2% Turkish, 2% Surinamese, and 1% Dutch Antilleans; Control Group: 82% Dutch, 2% Moroccan, 2% Turkish, 3% Surinamese, and 1% Dutch Antilleans
• Gender — Intervention Group: 50% Male; Control Group: 47% Male
• Status — Participants were students in Grades 3–4 (Dutch Grades 5–6).

Location/Institution: Netherlands

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of KiVa [now called KiVa Antibullying Program] in the Netherlands. Participants were randomly assigned to the KiVa intervention group or to the services as usual control group. Measures utilized include the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ) Results indicate that self-reported victimization and bullying reduced more strongly in KiVa-schools compared with control schools, with stronger effects after two school years than after one school year of implementation. The results also showed that for students in control schools, the odds of being a victim were higher, and the odds of being a bully were higher than for KiVa students. No significant differences between KiVa and KiVa+ emerged. Limitations include only generalizable to schools in the Netherlands that are motivated and willing to implement a school-wide antibullying program, and did not account for the implementation fidelity reliance on self-reported measures.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Valenzuela, D., Turunen, T., Gana, S., Rojas-Barahona, C. A., Araya, R., Salmivalli, C., & Gaete, J. (2022). Effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program with and without the online game in Chile: a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. Prevention Science, 23(8), 1470–1482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01379-z

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 5,923 students (39 schools)

Population:

• Age — Mean=10.3 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 100% Latino/Hispanic Chilean
• Gender — 54% Male and 46% Female
• Status — Participants were students in fifth and sixth grade.

Location/Institution: Santiago, Chile

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to conduct an efficacy evaluation of the KiVa Antibullying Program on a non-European country, specifically Santiago, Chile in Latin America. Participant schools were randomized to any of three arms: (1) full KiVa Antibullying Program group, (2) partial KiVa Antibullying Program group, or (3) control group, which received no KiVa Antibullying Program implementation. Measures utilized include the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM), and the School Vulnerability Index – National System of Equity Allocation (IVE-SINAE). Results indicate that there were mixed results for the KiVa antibullying program in Chile. On the one hand, partial KiVa Antibullying Program schools had lower levels of bullying than control schools. In contrast, students in full KiVa Antibullying Program schools reported similar levels of bullying victimization to students in control schools. There was no clear superiority between KiVa Antibullying Program schools and control schools regarding bullying perpetration. For witnessing bullying, partial KiVa Antibullying Program schools performed better than full KiVa Antibullying Program schools and control schools. Additionally, better effects of the KiVa Antibullying Program were found for younger students (5th grade) than older ones (6th grade). Overall, there was only a small effect on bullying victimization and witnessing when KiVa Antibullying Program was delivered without the online game. Limitations include lack of data collection regarding the implementation process, the use of self-report questionnaires to assess most outcomes, and 31% attrition rate at the outcome assessment.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.