Bullying and social anxiety in children (II): proposal of a new recreational intervention program

This paper presents the results of the application of a new recreational program focused on social skills for the intervention and prevention of social anxiety and school bullying. The program “Playing and Learning Social Skills” (JAHSO) was applied at two schools in Granada (Spain) to a total of 193 children aged between 9 and 14. The results show a sharp drop in social anxiety in five of the six dimensions assessed for this construct. Regarding bullying, the program’s positive impact was statistically significant in seven of the ten items assessed, although the impact of the intervention depended on the specific item. Based on the results forthcoming, this program can be extremely useful for treating and preventing social anxiety and bullying in both primary and secondary schools (4th to 9th grades). The aim of the next step in this research, which is already under way, will be to study whether the modifications introduced could improve those issues that have proven to be less effective in the current application.