Cyberbullying Characteristics and Prevention—What Can We Learn from Narratives Provided by Adolescents and Their Teachers?

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the results of the study on the specific aspects of cyberbullying and prevention measures viewed from both the students’ and teachers’ perspectives. Cyberbullying is a severe threat to the individual and social well-being of young people. For this reason, it is important to understand how they perceive the phenomenon of cyberbullying, how they identify its causes, what they think about support, and the preventive measures offered through the lens of their own cyberbullying experiences. The study was conducted in a qualitative research paradigm. Students (N = 55) aged 13–16 from 25 junior high schools located in different regions of (blinded for the review) who had experienced cyberbullying incidents as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders, and their teachers (N = 45) were interviewed. They provided in-depth answers regarding cyberbullying incidents they had experienced and presented their attitudes and interpretations concerning those cases. The raw data were analysed by competent judges who defined a posteriori important categories that were useful for understanding the psychosocial mechanisms of cyberbullying and important dimensions of its prevention. The results proved a clear connection between participation in offline and online peer violence. The analysis of the statements showed that public/private types of cyberbullying involve different psychological and social mechanisms. Our findings confirm the importance of empathy as the buffering factor in cyberbullying perpetration. In addition, the limitations and inadequacy of the support and interventions offered by adults in cyberbullying cases have been emphasised in teens’ testimonies. The results may constitute grounds for formulating recommendations on the prevention of cyberbullying in the school context, taking into account the perspective of all actors involved.

Parenting Styles and Self-Esteem in Adolescent Cybervictims and Cyberaggressors: Self-Esteem as a Mediator Variable

“…Despite these limitations, the study has important practical implications for school health professionals The results suggest the importance of implementing at school programs to promote self-esteem particularly, along with other factors of socioemotional development (e.g., prosocial behavior, assertive communication, empathy, etc. ), due to its efficacy in decreasing violence and anti-cyberbullying programs that also stimulate transversally socioemotional development factors [ 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 ].…”

The effect of body shaming on students who blame themselves

“…Adolescents understand others as unique regarding personal traits, values, interests, and feelings (Iftitania, 2021;Schlüter et al, 2021). This understanding encourages adolescents to establish more intimate social relationships that lead to unfavorable names in the scope of friendship (Pyżalski et al, 2022;Wagner, 2019). When called a bad name, it causes negative thoughts and encourages the victim to reply to the perpetrator with a bad call (Fauzia & Rahmiaji, 2019;Strelan et al, 2020).…”

Psycho-Social Correlates of Cyberbullying among Polish Adolescents

“…Although research suggests that empathy may play an important role in cyberbullying [ 55 ], the results of studies on the relationship between the two are inconclusive. Martínez et al [ 2 ], citing the results of meta-analyses, indicate that high levels of affective and cognitive empathy are usually protective factors, while low levels of empathy are a risk factor for cyberbullying [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The results of the study by these researchers showed, however, that being a cyberbully was associated with higher affective empathy.…”