Virtual intervention to decrease adolescent aggression during the COVID pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic containment measures, the levels of externalizing problems among adolescents increased. Héroe is a virtual program that seeks to stimulate positive socioemotional variables in adolescents and was implemented during the COVID-19 confinement in Argentina. This study aims to evaluate whether this program inhibits aggressive behavior in adolescents during the pandemic. This is an experimental, field, and longitudinal study; a pretest-posttest design was used with a follow-up evaluation three months after the end of the intervention with an experimental and a control group. Eighty-eight adolescents participated in the intervention group (51% female, M age = 13.52, SD = 1.04) and 102 adolescents in the wait-list control group (58% female, M age = 13.59, SD = .91). Results indicate that aggressive behavior decreased in the intervention group, whereas it increased in the control group. These findings provide evidence for the role of virtual interventions in decreasing adolescent disruptive behaviors during the COVID-19 confinement and their effectiveness in working with adolescents.