XR-based bullying prevention interventions among K-12 students: a scoping review of design, theory, and outcomes

Extended reality (XR) can present controlled and repeatable bullying scenarios, support perspective and role changes, and provide opportunities for response practice. However, how XR affordances have been connected to prevention mechanisms, learning activities, and outcomes remains unclear.

This scoping review mapped the characteristics of XR-based bullying prevention interventions for K-12 students, examined the alignment among theoretical mechanisms, XR affordances, and learning activities, and synthesized reported outcome patterns.

Four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and PsycINFO) were searched on March 13, 2026, for peer-reviewed articles published from 2005 through 2025. Targeted supplementary searching was also conducted. Eligible articles evaluated direct prevention programs or XR applications explicitly developed to inform bullying prevention through mechanism testing, scenario validation, or feasibility evaluation. Data from 17 articles were charted and synthesized descriptively in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidance.

Fifteen articles used virtual reality or virtual environments and two used augmented reality. Twelve used high-immersion configurations, but nine of these provided limited learner interactivity. The evidence base comprised nine program evaluations, five mechanism-oriented studies, and three design or feasibility studies. Immersion was most consistently associated with presence, realism, and immediate emotional responses. Favorable or conditionally favorable intervention-related evidence patterns were reported in several studies incorporating meaningful learner interaction, although these findings varied across outcomes, study designs, and evaluation conditions. Evidence for knowledge, empathy, attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions was mixed, and only a small subset of studies examined real-world bullying-related behavior or outcomes beyond the immediate post-intervention period. Two recurring instructional patterns were identified: experience followed by reflection and action followed by feedback and revision.

XR can make bullying situations salient, controllable, and experientially accessible, but stronger immersion should not be equated with stronger prevention effects. Future interventions should specify the intended mechanism, select XR affordances and learning activities accordingly, and evaluate outcomes at the level and timescale supported by the intervention design. Such alignment may clarify when XR provides meaningful prevention value beyond less immersive or non-digital alternatives.