Rosario Ortega

The Emotional Impact on Victims of Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying A Study of Spanish Adolescents

We examine the emotional impact caused to victims of bullying in its traditional form, both directly and indirectly, as well as bullying inflicted by use of new technologies such as mobile phones and the Internet. A sample of 1,671 adolescents and young people responded to a questionnaire which asked if they had been victims of various forms of bullying, as well as the emotions this caused. The results show that although traditional bullying affected significantly more young people than cyberbullying, the latter affected one in ten adolescents. Analysis of the emotions caused showed that traditional bullying produced a wide variety of impacts, with the victims being divided into five different emotional categories, while indirect bullying and cyberbullying presented a narrower variety of results with the victims being classifiable into just two groups: Those who said that they had not been emotionally affected and those who simultaneously suffered from a wide variety of negative emotions. The influence of age, gender, and severity on each emotional category is also analyzed.

The emotional impact of bullying and cyberbullying on victims: a European cross-national study

Past research has demonstrated the effects of bullying can be severe and long term for the individuals involved. The main aim of this study is to analyze the emotional impact on victims of traditional bullying, both direct and indirect forms, and of cyberbullying through mobile phones and the Internet. A sample of 5,862 adolescents from three different countries, Italy (N = 1,964), Spain (N = 1,671), and England (N = 2,227), responded to a questionnaire that asked if they had experience of various forms of bullying, and the consequent emotional impact. The results show that both traditional bullying and cyberbullying have a significant prevalence in the samples. Emotional responses are linked to types of bullying. Analysis of answers identified specific emotional profiles for the different types of bullying and cyberbullying. Direct bullying and cyberbullying via mobile phone showed similar profiles, and also indirect bullying and cyberbullying using the Internet. Similarities and differences between profiles are discussed and some hypotheses are presented to explain the results. In addition, school grade, gender, country, and severity of bullying episodes were related to the specific emotional profiles of each type of bullying.

The Seville Anti-Bullying in School Project

This article describes the current problem of bullying in schools in Andalucia (southern Spain) and goes on to examine some possible responses being developed at the University of Seville to meet the challenge of school-based aggression. The project goes under the collective rubric of “SAVE”—The Seville Anti-Bullying in School Project. The SAVE project combines an investigative research initiative with a preventive action programme aimed at reducing the problems of violence in primary and secondary schools. This takes a whole-school approach (similar to that used in the Sheffield Anti-Bullying Project in the U.K.) And involves coordinated action against bullying across 13 schools situated in socially deprived areas in Seville. The problem is approached through the school curriculum and places particular emphasis on children who are considered to have special needs in this area. Aggr. Behav. 26:113–123, 2000.

The Long-Term Effects of Coping Strategy Use in Victims of Bullying.

The ways in which children appraise and cope with school bullying are likely to influence the long-term outcomes experienced. To examine this possibility, 219 Spanish undergraduate students (73 male, 146 female) aged between 18 and 40, completed an adapted version of the Retrospective Bullying Questionnaire (RBQ; Schäfer et al., 2004) and a distress scale (Rivers, 1999). Results indicated that neither coping strategies reported by victims of bullying nor the match between control appraisal and coping strategy influenced levels of distress experienced as adults. Control, threat and challenge appraisals did, however, influence long-term distress. Explanations for these effects are discussed, and include the possibility that appraisals may directly influence levels of distress and the quality of emotions experienced by victims during the actual bullying episode. Active strategies were perceived by students to be effective in dealing with bullying, whereas those centered on avoiding the conflict, or which involved aggression, were considered ineffective.

Las redes de iguales y el fenómeno del acoso escolar: explorando el esquema dominio-sumisión

Resumen El fenómeno del acoso escolar es uno de los problemas que más afecta al clima de convivencia de las aulas de la mayoría de los centros escolares. Actualmente es ya un tema muy investigado. Numerosos trabajos han descrito su incidencia y han valorado su gravedad. Sin embargo, el propio constructo “acoso escolar” requiere todavía un análisis más profundo y explicativo. En este artículo se pretende avanzar en el conocimiento y comprensión de este problema desde el planteamiento de una teoría cognitivo-relacional que considera las características individuales de los sujetos y la red de iguales como unidades de análisis. Vara sustentar esta teoría se presenta un estudio de naturaleza sociométrica donde se consideran los vínculos que se establecen entre los implicados en los episodios de maltrato entre iguales, así como las percepciones y atribuciones que de esos vínculos tienen los alumnos. Los datos apoyan la importancia que estos factores tienen en el mantenimiento del esquema dominio-sumisión al que atribuimos naturaleza de núcleo central de la dinámica del acoso.

Reciprocal involvement in adolescent dating aggression: An Italian–Spanish study

This study aimed to: (1) analyse the association of different patterns of reciprocal involvement in dating aggression (reciprocal psychological and physical aggression; reciprocal psychological aggression; non-aggressive individuals) with different qualities of romantic relationship; and (2) compare results in two European countries, Italy and Spain. Participants were 304 adolescents (141 Italy, 163 Spain) with a current dating relationship. Results in both countries showed that adolescents involved in reciprocal psychological and physical aggression are more likely to have higher levels of couple conflict and power imbalance as compared to the reciprocal psychological aggressive group and to the non-aggressive individuals. Besides, adolescents involved in reciprocal psychological aggression are more likely to have lower levels of support as compared to the non-aggressive individuals. Discussion is focused on different patterns of reciprocal involvement differentiated in relation to level of aggression, conflict and power imbalance.

Un marco conceptual para la interpretación psicológica del juego infantil

ResumenEl articulo plantea un analisis conceptual de la teoria del juego de Piaget y la compara criticamente con la teoria que se desprende del pensamiento vygotskiano sobre el tema. Aunque hay una eleccion por parte de la autora del trabajo de este ultimo constructo teorico, el estudio esta dirigido a resaltar aquellos aspectos del discurso piagetiano que considera fundamentales para elaborar una teoria psicologica del juego infantil, y a criticar aquellos otros que le parecen contradictorios o deficitarios.

Impact of the ConRed program on different cyberbulling roles

This article presents results from an evaluation of the ConRed cyberbullying intervention program. The programs impacts were separately determined for the different roles within cyberbullying that students can take, i.e., cyber-victims, cyber-bullies, cyber-bully/victims, and bystanders. The ConRed program is a theory-driven program designed to prevent cyberbullying and improve cyberbullying coping skills. It involves students, teachers, and families. During a 3-month period, external experts conducted eight training sessions with students, two with teachers and one with families. ConRed was evaluated through a quasi-experimental design, in which students from three secondary schools were separated into experimental and control groups. The sample comprised 875 students, aged between 11 and 19 years. More students (n = 586) were allocated to the experimental groups at the specific insistence of the management of all schools; the remainder (n = 289) formed the control. Repeated measures MANOVA showed that cyber victims, cyber aggressors and cyberbully/victims reduced their involvement in cyberbullying. Moreover, cyber-victims and bystanders adjusted their perceptions about their control of personal information on the Internet, and cyber aggressors and bystanders reduced their Internet dependence. The ConRed program had stronger effects on male participants, especially in heightening their affective empathy.

Factores Asociados a la Implicación en Bullying: Un Estudio en Nicaragua

School bullying is one of the main problems affecting the quality of peer relationships in schools and in general the coexistence. At European level, there are scientific findings that indicate its nature, characteristics and factors related to its involvement. However, in poor and developing countries, where the problem is more serious, there is a high degree of awareness on this matter. The present study aimed to identify what factors may be influencing the occurrence of bullying in a representative sample of primary schools in the Nicaraguan capital. For this propose, 3042 students from Managua and its metropolitan area were explored with instruments comparable to those used in Europe. A multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that being a boy, to show antisocial behaviors and attitudes and contact with drugs were the three factors most related with the role of aggressor, as well as negative relationships had a significant influence on involvement in this phenomenon, either as a victim, aggressor or victimized aggressor. Results are discussed in relation to the profiles of aggressor and victim of bullying in international studies focusing on differences in developed countries.

Actividad e interacción entre iguales: explorando el mapping como instrumento de observación en aulas de Educación Infantil

Resumen El artículo presenta un estudio sobre el contexto interrelacional de los niños y niñas de 4 años de edad de dos aulas de Educación Infantil de la ciudad de Córdoba. Se trata de un análisis innovador basado en el uso del mapeo (mapping) para el registro y la descripción de los sistemas de actividad, comunicación y agrupamiento en preescolar. Los resultados muestran que existen diferencias significativas en la estructura social de participación dependiendo del tipo de actividad que se esté desarrollando y que estas diferencias parecen indicar que la dinámica social promovida por los y las docentes es más rígida y simple, respondiendo a modelos de enseñanza tradicionales.