Bullying in Adolescents: Differences between Gender and School Year and Relationship with Academic Performance

Abstract

School bullying is a phenomenon of unjustified aggression in the school environment that is widespread throughout the world and with serious consequences for both the bully and the bullied. The objectives of this research were to analyze the differences between the different bullying categories by gender and academic year in primary and secondary education students, as well as their relationship with academic performance. To categorize students according to their bullying experiences, the European Bullying Intervention Project (EBIPQ) Questionnaire was used. The Chi-square test was used to compare the scores obtained by the students in the EBIPQ based on gender and academic year, and the one-way ANOVA test was used to analyze its relationship with academic performance. Research participants were 562 students from the 5th (n = 228) and 6th (n = 186) primary school years and the 1st (n = 134) and 2nd (n = 94) secondary school years. They were males (50.5%) and females (49.5%) ranging in ages from 10 to 15 years old (mean = 11.66, standard deviation = 1.206). The results showed statistically significant differences in gender and academic year, indicating a greater number of boys in the role of the bully/victim and girls in that of non-bully/non-victim. The most aggressive students were in the 2nd year of ESO (12–13 years old). Regarding academic performance, statistically significant differences were obtained that confirm the hypothesis that performance or average grade varies according to the category of bullying in which students find themselves. The academic performance of the non-bully/non-victim and those in the victim category was found to be higher than that of bullies and bully/victim students.

Gender differences in teenager bullying dynamics and predictors of peer-to-peer intimidation

“…Initially, the descriptive gender-based differences found in this study suggest a considerably gendered state of affairs regarding teenagers’ self-reported perception of bullying victimization and symptomatology (passive factors) and intimidation (active bullying behaviors). The outcomes of these comparisons, carried out using robust mean tests, show great agreement with the findings of both qualitative [ 25 ] and quantitative [ 34 , 52 ] previous studies, regarding the greater involvement in active bullying behaviors among male students, compared with their female counterparts. Coherently, a recent study [ 63 ] has found a greater affectation among females as a consequence of their exposure to relational peer-to-peer bullying behaviors in a passive role.…”

“…Regarding other age-based prevalence rates, a recent study [ 33 ] reported a prevalence (victimization and perpetration) among youth students that was approximately 50% lower than that observed among pre-adolescent students in Brazil. In Spain, the role of bully has shown a higher prevalence between 11 and 15 years of age (between 1st and 4th secondary grades) [ 34 ], coherently with the data reported by studies addressing other Hispanic samples [ 35 , 36 ].…”

“…Although the literature from a few decades ago assumed that the likelihood of engaging in bullying behaviors was closely linked to poor school performance, subsequent studies have provided evidence that this is now quite relative. For example, studies such as [ 34 , 65 ] show that, although academic performance tends to be lower among bullies (as compared to the bullied ), gender, age, and other third factors could better explain these trends. Accordingly, we have found in this study that (poor) academic performance exerts a significant effect on intimidating behaviors in the case of male bully profiles, albeit not in the case of females.…”

“…In terms of gender, recent research [ 34 ] reported that there could be a higher frequency of female non-victim + non-bully profiles compared to males, while male teenagers are typically more frequently engaged in bully + victim roles than females.…”

Association of health-risk behaviors with perceived academic performance among middle and high school students: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China

“…A study conducted on American high school students showed that a low self-perception of academic performance was associated with being involved in a physical fight [ 44 ]. A Spanish study reported that students in the role of the bully/victim had lower academic performance, compared with those in non-bully/non-victim [ 45 ]. Bullying has a dual direction, such that being bullied may lead to future aggressive behaviors [ 46 ].…”