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Bullying is a major health problem. The KiVa antibullying program has been evaluated in Finland and other European countries, showing preventive effects on self-reported bullying victimization and perpetration. No evaluations of this program have been conducted in Latin America. A cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted at socially vulnerable schools in Santiago, Chile, to assess the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program in grades 5 and 6 (aged 10-12 years). Schools were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to three groups: the full KiVa group (including the online game), the partial KiVa group (did not include the online game), and the control group in which the regular school curriculum was implemented. The primary outcome was self-reported bullying victimization, assessed before the intervention (baseline) at the end of the academic year (November 2016) and post-intervention, 12 months after the baseline assessment (November 2017). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02898324. A total of 39 schools (13 in each group) were included; no schools withdrew. The baseline survey included 5923 participants, and the endpoint survey included 3968 participants. Participants in the partial KiVa group had lower bullying victimization at the endpoint survey than those in the control group (OBVQ-R adjusted mean difference - 0.14; 95% CI, - 0.26 to - 0.01; effect size - 0.13, 95% CI - 0.24 to - 0.01, p = 0.035). There was no effect of the full KiVa group for bullying victimization compared with the control and partial KiVa groups. Compared to the control group, participants in the partial KiVa group had lower witnessing bullying at school (adjusted mean difference = - 0.25; 95% CI - 0.45 to - 0.05; effect size - 0.18, 95% CI, - 0.32 to - 0.04, p = 0.013). No effects were found for other secondary outcomes, including bullying perpetration in any comparisons between arms. The implementation of the KiVa antibullying program had mixed results in Chile. There was only a small effect on bullying victimization and witnessing when KiVa was delivered without the online game.

Background: Mental health disorders are one of the leading causes of illness globally. The importance of psychosocial skills acquired in early childhood, such as executive functions, inhibitory control, emotional regulation, and social problem-solving, in preventing mental disorders has been reported. Furthermore, mental health care delivery is evolving, and mobile technology is becoming the medium for assessment and intervention. We have developed Japi 2.0, the second iteration of a gaming platform, to stimulate cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early childhood, supported by early years educators using a web-based dashboard integrated into one system. This study aims to assess the acceptability and feasibility of this gaming platform and web-based dashboards. Methods: This is a pilot randomized controlled trial, parallel-group type, where the school-based implementation of "Japi 2.0" training is compared to standard school curricula in control schools. A total of six schools with low socio-economic status located in the city of Santiago, Chile, are expected to be recruited and randomized with 1:1 allocation. Japi 2.0 has 24 sessions, and 2 sessions of 15 min per week are delivered for 12 weeks. Measures will be conducted using different instruments with children, parents, and early years educators to gain insight into their acceptance of the intervention and the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Discussion: This is a randomized control trial to assess the acceptability and feasibility of a gaming platform called "Japi 2.0" among preschoolers in Chile. This platform stimulates cognitive and non-cognitive skills with the final objective of reducing emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood. Evaluating the acceptability and feasibility of this technological solution for children is expected to produce relevant information about these novel designs. It may help guide future studies, such as a randomized controlled trial on a larger scale. Trial registration: Clinical Trials NCT06420544, May 20, 2024 [https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06420544]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between adverse childhood experiences and suicide-related behaviors (SRB) of adolescents has been widely studied in Western high-income countries, but not yet in Latin America. The aim of this study was to determine this association and to explore a dose-response relationship between adverse childhood experiences and SRB in Chile. We conducted a cross-sectional survey to assess adverse childhood experiences up to 1 year prior to the survey and SRB (suicide ideation and attempts) in a sample of secondary school students. Multilevel and multivariable logistic regressions were run with SRB as dependent and adverse childhood experiences as independent variables, adjusted by self-esteem, general mental health, friend and parental support, and the age at onset of cannabis and alcohol use. We included 7,458 adolescents (48.7% girls), mean age = 16.0 (SD = 0.7), and found a prevalence of 78.1% for at least one adverse childhood experience. The 6-month prevalence of suicidal ideation was 18.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 17.2%–19.0%), and the prevalence of suicide attempts was 5.0% (95% CI: 4.6–5.6). Among all adverse childhood experiences, only sexual abuse was a risk factor for both SRB. We also found an independent effect of the total number of adverse childhood experiences on suicidal ideation (p <.001) and on suicide attempts (p <.001). Additionally, ages at onset of alcohol and cannabis use were associated with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts, respectively. This is the first study exploring the influence of adverse childhood experiences on suicide-related behaviors in adolescents from Latin America. Sexual abuse is associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in 10th-grade secondary school students There is a dose-response effect between adverse childhood experiences and suicide-related behavior Ages at onset of alcohol and cannabis use were associated with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts, respectively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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