Continuity and Overlap of Roles in Victims and Aggressors of Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescence: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of research focused on analyzing the overlap and continuity of the roles in victims and aggressors of bullying and cyberbullying, as well as the exchange of roles in both harassment dynamics in adolescents. Searches in the main electronic databases for studies published in the last 20 years identified 19 studies that fulfilled inclusion criteria. The findings of the studies analyzed were not homogeneous, however, the main conclusion of all of them, to a greater or lesser extent, was that there is a component of continuity or superposition in the roles of both forms of bullying. Some studies also found an exchange of roles, especially in the case of victims and cybervictims who decide to reprimand their aggressors in an online context, becoming in cyberaggressors too. It is necessary to continue investigating the coexistence of bullying and cyberbullying and its exchange in certain contexts and people, as well as whether they are part of the same phenomenon with a certain continuity, or if cyberbullying is another expression of traditional bullying. Future intervention programs focusing on traditional school bullying could also evaluate their impact in situations of cyberbullying among peers.

Cyberbullying Among School Adolescents in an Urban Setting of a Developing Country: Experience, Coping Strategies, and Mediating Effects of Different Support on Psychological Well-Being

“…Studies show that cyberbullying significantly affects adolescents, such as increasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation (Klomek et al, 2010;Schneider et al, 2012;Nixon, 2014;Fahy et al, 2016;Pabian and Vandebosch, 2016;Yuchang et al, 2019), as well as causing physical and psychosomatic problems such as difficulty sleeping, headache, and loss of appetite (Beckman et al, 2012;Schneider et al, 2012;Schultze-Krumbholz et al, 2012;Kowalski and Limber, 2013). Cyberbullying is also associated with the onset of substance use, traditional and cyberbullying perpetration, and delinquency (Mitchell et al, 2007;Wong et al, 2014;Chan and Wong, 2020;Estévez et al, 2020). These consequences have been observed in all perpetrators, victims, and observers of cyberbullying (Beckman et al, 2012;Wong et al, 2014;Panumaporn et al, 2020).…”

Adolescent Deviance and Cyber-Deviance. A Systematic Literature Review

“…While reviews on online deviance focus on main theories of deviance, the systematic reviews in the field of online literature focus on specific online behaviors and their correlates, including the predictors of offline deviance mentioned before, Internet access, and computer use. Of particular interest is the systematic review of Estévez et al (2020), which provides a bridge between online and cyber-deviance by revealing similar patterns in the development of bullying and cyberbullying behavior. In this sense, the authors show that risk factors and protective factors of the two problematic behaviors mostly coincide.…”

The Risk of Bullying and Probability of Help-Seeking Behaviors in School Children: A Bayesian Network Analysis

“…Bullying is one of the most common phenomena related to aggression in school. In the school environment, bullying can refer to both harassment, intimidation, multiple use of one's predominance, verbal, physical, and social violence, as well as violence using modern technologies, known as cyberbullying (1)(2)(3). According to the review of Juvonen and Graham (4), ∼20-25% of young people are directly involved with bullying, either as the perpetrator, the victim, or both.…”

“…According to the review of Juvonen and Graham (4), ∼20-25% of young people are directly involved with bullying, either as the perpetrator, the victim, or both. The meta-analysis by Estévez et al (1) clearly indicates that bullying is a rather complex phenomenon. These behaviors are not only repetitive over time, but they also change forms in the course of development, especially during childhood and adolescence.…”

“…These behaviors are not only repetitive over time, but they also change forms in the course of development, especially during childhood and adolescence. Being a victim of bullying is an important risk factor for being the perpetrator of various forms of bullying, including cyberbullying in the future (1,5).…”