Impact Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention to Prevent Digital Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Bolivia

Last registered on September 09, 2026

Pre-Trial

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0019551

Initial registration date

August 31, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

September 09, 2026, 4:47 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name

Andrea Alcaraz Rivero

Affiliation

Universidad Privada Boliviana

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Denisse Wolfenzon

PI Affiliation

Inter-American Development Bank

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PI Name

Norma Peña Arango

PI Affiliation

Inter-American Development Bank

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PI Name

Tatiana Rocabado

PI Affiliation

Inter-American Development Bank

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PI Name

Claudia Piras

PI Affiliation

Inter-American Development Bank

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Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2026-08-31

End date

2027-02-28

Keywords

Behavior, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Education

Additional Keywords

cyberviolence, digital violence, online safety, children and adolescents, school-based intervention, cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion, help-seeking behavior, digital citizenship

JEL code(s)

I21, D91, K42

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

This study evaluates a school-based educational intervention designed to strengthen the prevention of and response to digital violence among children and adolescents in Bolivia. The study is conducted in participating schools in three municipalities and combines a cluster randomized controlled trial with a complementary qualitative component.

For the experimental component, school classes are randomly assigned to receive the intervention either early or after a short waiting period. All eligible classes eventually receive the intervention. The primary comparison is conducted after the early-treatment classes have participated in the program but before the delayed-treatment classes receive it. Randomization occurs at the class level, while outcomes are measured at the individual student level.

The intervention includes age-appropriate educational activities for children and adolescents aimed at improving understanding of digital violence, recognition of online risks, confidence in seeking help, intentions to respond safely, and awareness of shared responsibilities among students, families, schools, and other relevant actors.

Student surveys are administered before the intervention, immediately after the experimental comparison period, and during subsequent follow-up. The primary analysis estimates intention-to-treat effects of early assignment to the intervention, accounting for the clustered randomization and baseline outcomes.

The study also includes focus groups with parents, caregivers, and teachers, as well as semi-structured interviews with school leaders, institutional actors, and program implementers. This qualitative component is intended to help explain mechanisms of change, barriers to implementation, the usefulness of intervention materials, coordination between schools and families, and conditions for sustainability. Causal inference is restricted to the randomized student component.

External Link(s)

The IDB website provides a description of the technical cooperation under which this initiative is being implemented. The page contains information on the broader project, which includes several components, including this intervention.

Registration Citation

Citation

Alcaraz Rivero, Andrea et al. 2026. "Impact Evaluation of a School-Based Intervention to Prevent Digital Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Bolivia." AEA RCT Registry. September 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19551-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The intervention is a school-based educational program designed to strengthen the prevention of and response to digital violence among children and adolescents in Bolivia. It uses age-appropriate, participatory activities to improve students’ understanding of digital violence, recognition of online risks, capacity to seek help and support peers, intentions to respond safely, and awareness of shared responsibilities among students, families, schools, and other relevant actors.

The randomized evaluation compares classes that receive the student intervention early with classes that receive the same intervention after a short waiting period. All eligible classes eventually receive the intervention.

Intervention Start Date

2026-08-31

Intervention End Date

2026-10-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

1. Conceptual knowledge of digital violence
2. Recognition and internalization of digital risks
3. Capacity to communicate, seek help, and support peers
4. Intention to take safe action in situations of digital violence
5. Perceived shared responsibility and collective support for preventing and responding to digital violence

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Primary outcomes will be constructed from age-appropriate survey items administered at baseline and at the immediate post-treatment measurement.

Conceptual knowledge will be measured using objective questions on digital violence, online risks, warning signs, consent in digital environments, and basic protective responses. The knowledge index will be calculated as the percentage of items answered correctly; incorrect and “Don’t know” responses will be coded as zero.

The remaining primary outcomes will be constructed from multiple survey items and age-appropriate hypothetical scenarios or vignettes. Responses will be recoded so that higher values consistently represent more favorable outcomes and transformed to a common 0–100 scale. Three-category response scales will be coded 0, 50 and 100, and five-category scales will be coded 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100. Each dimension-level index will be calculated as the simple mean of valid items when at least two-thirds of the relevant items have been answered. Reverse-coded items will be recoded before index construction.

The primary endpoint for causal inference is the immediate post-intervention measurement, comparing students assigned to early intervention with students assigned to delayed intervention before the latter receive the program. Baseline values of the corresponding outcome will be used in the primary ANCOVA specification.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

1. Perceived relevance and importance of digital violence
2. Barriers to disclosure, communication, and help-seeking
3. Perceived usefulness, clarity, and relevance of intervention activities and materials
4. Persistence of primary outcome measures at subsequent follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Perceived relevance will capture the extent to which students consider digital violence an important and relevant issue in their school and social environment.

Barriers to help-seeking will capture perceived obstacles to discussing digital risks or seeking support, including fear of punishment, embarrassment, lack of trust, or the belief that the situation should be handled alone. These items will be analyzed separately, with higher values representing greater barriers.

Among students exposed to the intervention, post-intervention items will assess the perceived clarity, relevance, usefulness, and appropriateness of the activities and materials. These measures will be treated as implementation and acceptability outcomes rather than as primary causal endpoints.

Primary outcome indices will also be examined at subsequent follow-up to assess persistence after all eligible classes have received the intervention. These later comparisons will not replace the main randomized early-versus-delayed contrast.

Experimental Design

The study uses a stratified cluster randomized controlled trial in participating schools in three municipalities in Bolivia. The unit of randomization is the school class/parallel, and the unit of observation is the individual student.

Within predefined strata, comparable classes are assigned to either an early-intervention group or a delayed-intervention group. Baseline outcomes are measured before exposure to the intervention. The primary experimental follow-up is conducted after the early-intervention class has received the program and before the corresponding delayed-intervention class receives it. The delayed classes subsequently receive the same intervention, so all eligible classes eventually have access to the program.

The primary analysis follows an intention-to-treat approach and estimates the effect of assignment to early intervention relative to temporary delayed intervention.

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

Computer randomization conducted in Stata using a pre-specified reproducible Park–Miller “minimal standard” pseudo-random number generator (seed 20260729), stratified by municipality, school, age group/educational level, and grade. Allocation was 1:1 within each eligible stratum.

Randomization Unit

School class/parallel (class section). Randomization is conducted at the class/parallel level; individual students within a class receive the assignment of their class.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

96 randomized school classes/parallels

Sample size: planned number of observations

Approximately 3,000 students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

48 school classes/parallels assigned to Early Intervention; 48 school classes/parallels assigned to Delayed Intervention / Waitlist. Two additional classes without a comparable parallel are not randomized and are excluded from the primary experimental contrast.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

To be updated using baseline data. The study randomizes 96 school classes/parallels (48 per arm). The final minimum detectable effect size will account for the observed average cluster size, intraclass correlation of the primary outcomes, baseline outcome variance, stratification, and effective student response rates.

Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Comité de Ética y Transparencia de la Universidad Privada Boliviana (CET‑UPB)

IRB Approval Date

2026-08-27

IRB Approval Number

CET-027082026

Analysis Plan