Effectiveness of Mindfulness‑Based Cognitive Therapy for Child on Bullying Behaviors among Children

Aims: Bullying is an ever‑increasing phenomenon in schools and it has far‑reaching consequences on children and adolescents, for which necessary measures must be taken to prevent and reduce it. This study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness‑based cognitive therapy for child (MBCT‑C) on bullying behavior among children. Materials and Methods: the population of this study consisted of Grade 3 through 5 students in Kashan town in 2017–2018 school years. The sample consisted of 20 students who had been selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria. The conventional sampling method was used. A quasi‑experimental design was used in this study. Participants completed the Illinois Bullying Scale before and after the intervention of experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance. Results: The findings showed that MBCT‑C had a significant effect on bullying behavior reduction and the effect size in this intervention was 0.89. Furthermore, results from individual mean scores in bullying scale questions indicated that in pretest both experimental and control groups, “excluding others from in a group of friends” was the most frequent behavior and mindfulness training had effectively the highest effect on decreasing this character. Conclusion: It suggests that intervention concerning diminishing bullying behaviors may start with mindfulness training.