The Effectiveness of Interactive Storytelling in Enhancing Children’s Empathy as a Preventive Measure Against Bullying

Abstract

Background: Bullying in children is frequently associated with a lack of awareness and difficulties in managing emotions, particularly empathy. Interactive storytelling is considered a promising approach to help children link narrative experiences with their own emotional understanding. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of interactive storytelling in enhancing empathy among elementary school children. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups was applied to 140 students, divided equally into intervention and control groups. Empathy was measured using the 20-item Perth Empathy Scale (PES). The intervention consisted of four sessions, including pre-test and introductory materials on empathy and bullying, storytelling of positive empathetic experiences, activities to foster empathy for bullying prevention, and post-test. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and the Mann–Whitney Test. Results: The intervention group showed a significant improvement in empathy scores, increasing from 49.41 (±SD 5.115) at pre-test to 65.27 (±SD 2.028) at post-test. There was a significant effect of interactive storytelling on empathy (Z = -7.273, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Interactive storytelling effectively improves empathy in elementary school children and can be implemented as a preventive strategy to reduce bullying behaviors. Suggestion: Teachers are encouraged to integrate interactive storytelling into classroom practices to strengthen students’ empathetic skills and promote positive social interactions.