Psychological adjustment in cybervictims and cyberbullies in secondary education

Abstract

El auge de las agresiones cibernéticas entre estudiantes de secundaria y la importancia de ciertas variables de ajuste psicosocial para la comprensión de este tipo de conducta violenta, tanto en agresores como en víctimas, plantean como objetivo en el presente trabajo analizar el perfil psicosocial de ambos implicados en situaciones de ciberagresión. Las variables de ajuste analizadas fueron autoconcepto, estrés percibido, soledad, sintomatología depresiva, ansiedad social, satisfacción con la vida e inteligencia emocional. A partir de una muestra de 1318 adolescentes (47% chicos), de entre 11 y 18 años, se establecieron tres grupos de contraste para cibervíctimas (víctimas severas, moderadas y no cibervíctimas) y tres grupos para ciberagresores (ciberagresores severos, moderados y no ciberagresores). El análisis de varianza mostró que los implicados presentan perfiles psicosociales diferentes y deteriorados. Las cibervíctimas severas mostraron mayor estrés percibido, soledad, depresión y ansiedad social, y menor autoconcepto, satisfacción con la vida e IE, en comparación con las no cibervíctimas. Los ciberagresores severos mostraron mayor estrés percibido, soledad y depresión, y menor autoconcepto y satisfacción con la vida, comparativamente con los no ciberagresores. Estos resultados permiten profundizar en la comprensión del ciberacoso entre estudiantes y mejorar los programas preventivos y de intervención en escuelas. The rise of cyberbullying among high school students and the importance of certain variables of psychological adjustment for the comprehension of this type of violent behavior both in bullies and in victims. This work aims to analyze the psychological profile of individuals involved in situations of cyberbullying, both victims and bullies. The adjustment variables analyzed were self-concept, perceived stress, loneliness, depressive symptomatology, social anxiety, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence. Using a sample of 1318 adolescents (47% boys), aged between 11 and 18 years (M = 13.8, SD = 1.32), three contrast groups were established for cybervictims (severe cybervictims, moderate cybervictims, and non-cybervictims) and three groups for cyberbullies (severe cyberbullies, moderate cyberbullies, and non-cyberbullies). The results obtained through analysis of variance showed that both cybervictims and cyberbullies show deterioration in most of the studied dimensions, albeit with a different profile. Severe cybervictims showed higher scores in perceived stress, loneliness, depression, and social anxiety, and lower scores in self-concept, life satisfaction, and emotional intelligence, in comparison with non-cybervictims. Severe cyberbullies obtained higher scores in perceived stress, loneliness, and depression, and lower scores in self-concept and life satisfaction, compared to non-cyberbullies. These results allow deepening our comprehension of cyberbullying among students to improve preventive and intervention programs in schools.

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