The effect of the nurse-led ROOTS program and soft skills training on emotional regulation to prevent bullying in high school students in Bandung city

Iyus  Yosep; Shelly  Iskandar; Ai  Mardhiyah; Muhammad Rasyid  Ramdhani; Rohman  Hikmat

doi:10.18502/npt.v13i2.21468

Iyus Yosep Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Shelly Iskandar Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Ai Mardhiyah Department of Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Muhammad Rasyid Ramdhani Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Mathematic and Sciences, Universitas Padjadjaran, Sumedang, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Rohman Hikmat Faculty of Nursing, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai District, Songkhla, Thailand

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/npt.v13i2.21468

Keywords: adolescents; emotional regulation; nurse-led intervention; ROOTS program; soft skills training

Abstract

Background & Aim: Bullying is a significant issue affecting adolescents' mental well-being, with emotional regulation playing a key role in preventing such behavior. In Bandung, high rates of bullying among high school students indicate the need for effective prevention strategies. Nurse-led interventions, combined with soft skills training, offer a promising approach to improving emotional regulation and reducing bullying. This study examined the effect of the Nurse-Led ROOTS Program integrated with Soft Skills Training on emotion regulation among high school students in Bandung City.

Materials & Methods: A class-cluster randomized pretest–posttest control-group study was conducted in July 2025 in two high schools in Bandung, Indonesia. A total of 100 students aged 13-18 years were randomly assigned at the class level to an intervention group (n=50) or a control group (n=50). The intervention was delivered over 8 weeks through nurse-led face-to-face sessions. Emotion regulation was measured using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) at baseline and post-intervention. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and mixed-effects ANCOVA.

Results: Baseline ERQ-CA scores did not differ significantly between groups (p>0.05). The intervention group showed a significant improvement in total ERQ-CA scores (28.9±4.7 to 36.2±4.3; p< 0.001; r= 0.72), with the largest gains observed in the cognitive reappraisal dimension, whereas the control group showed no significant change (p= 0.218). At posttest, the intervention group had significantly higher ERQ-CA scores than the control group (p< 0.001; r=0.69).

Conclusion: The Nurse-Led ROOTS Program integrated with Soft Skills Training significantly improved emotion regulation among high school students in Bandung. This nurse-facilitated, peer-leadership approach may represent a scalable strategy to strengthen adolescent mental health and support violence prevention in school settings.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07261397.