Learning to Reformulate Peer Conflict: Effects of a Language-Based Educational Program on Conflict Management, Peer Interaction, and Bullying-Related Experiences in Early Adolescence

Peer conflict in early adolescence ranges from everyday disagreements to repeated aggression and bullying-related experiences. Bullying should not be reduced to physical violence: it may involve relational exclusion, psychological harassment, or verbal aggression without direct physical harm, whereas isolated aggressive acts do not necessarily constitute bullying. This study evaluated Reformulando, a school-based program that trains communication-based socio-emotional skills through pragmatic reformulation and respectful language. Using a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design with a non-equivalent control group, we assessed changes in conflict management strategies, peer aggression, and bullying-related experiences among students aged 10–13 years. Initial analyses suggested reductions in verbal peer aggression in the experimental group relative to the control group, although these effects were attenuated in age-adjusted and classroom-clustered sensitivity analyses. Collaborative conflict management increased over time, although this change did not differ significantly between groups. Bullying-related experiences decreased during the study period, but these reductions were not specific to the experimental group. This pattern emerged in the primary analyses but was attenuated in age-adjusted and cluster-adjusted sensitivity analyses. Findings suggest the potential value of brief communication-based training for addressing verbal peer conflict, while highlighting the need for cautious interpretation due to baseline group differences, grade-level imbalance, classroom clustering, and the quasi-experimental design.