Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization and Associated Factors among Adolescents in Six European Countries

Abstract

Bullying and cyberbullying victimization are significant factors that threaten adolescent development and mental health. Our study aimed to analyze how socioeconomic characteristics and personal experiences of violence are associated with adolescents’ experiences of bullying and cyberbullying victimization. The study participants were 1146 students, 698 females and 448 males, aged between 13 and 16 years old, from secondary schools in Spain, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Poland and the UK. Data was collected through an online questionnaire. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Poisson regression with robust variance. In total, 37.2% of girls and 35.0% of boys reported being victims of bullying and or cyberbullying. The likelihood of bullying and or cyberbullying victimization was higher when adolescents had experienced physical and or sexual abuse before the age of 15, had witnessed domestic violence against their mother or had been victims of intimate partner violence. Perceived social support from teachers and classmates and higher self-esteem were associated with a lower likelihood of becoming a victim of bullying and or cyberbullying, but an association between experience of any other form of violence and the greater possibility of becoming a victim of bullying and or cyberbullying persisted even when self-esteem and social support were included in the model. Protecting adolescents from bullying and or cyberbullying means preventing all exposure to violent experiences in childhood and adolescence. Not having such experiences seems to be the most relevant protective factor.

Cyberbullying and Psychopathological Behaviors in Spanish Secondary Education Students

“…Participants who assumed the victim role displayed psychopathological behaviors such as depressive symptomatology, loneliness leading to energy loss, paranoia accompanied by neurosis and fear, psychopathic deviance causing inhibition, schizophrenia leading to low interpersonal relationships and neurosis, and psychasthenia, characterized by anxiety and neuroticism [21][22][23][24]. These results are in line with previous research that shows that the role of the victim in cyberbullying shows personality traits or psychopathological behaviors characterized by depression, anxiety, low interpersonal skills, loneliness, etc.…”

“…As interpersonal interactions occur, openness can become a persistent form of harassment [17,20]. Victims often exhibit depressive symptoms, low emotional intelligence, fear, social isolation, shyness, and introversion [21][22][23][24][25]. Aggressors typically display antisocial and criminal behaviors, a lack of empathy, extraversion, a lack of self-control, and cruelty [7,23,26].…”

Healthy Lifestyle in Adolescence: Associations with Stress, Self-Esteem and the Roles of School Violence

“…These results may be associated with youth who experience school violence situations having lower ability to cope with stress [ 20 ], which is related to a higher consumption of harmful substances and a lower self-esteem [ 19 , 22 ]. However, higher self-esteem is related to a lower probability of being a victim of school violence [ 29 ]. Studies address that youth exposed to violence have risk behaviors, such as substance abuse and worse life satisfaction [ 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Conversely, high self-esteem may be associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in healthy behaviors, such as good nutrition and regular exercise [ 28 ]. In relation to school violence, it is observed that individuals with higher self-esteem present a lower susceptibility to being victims of bullying and/or cyberbullying [ 29 ].…”

Bullying Victimization and Adolescent Depression, Anxiety and Stress: The Mediation of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

“…More specifically, it has been observed that, overall, being male, younger in age, having a below-average socioeconomic status, and receiving low peer and parental support were associated with a greater risk of bullying victimization [15]. Some authors have demonstrated that prevalence rates of bullying victimization in Europe are lower compared with those observed in Africa and America, although more recent evidence showed an overall noteworthy prevalence of 36.39% in European countries [17]. In the Italian school context, 20% of students between 11 and 17 years reported having been bullied two or more times in a month [18].…”