Intimidación, ciberbullying y gestión de emociones en escolares sicilianos de educación primaria

Résumé

This study aimed to analyze the relationships between the students in the classroom, the school climate, and the emotions among the schoolchildren, the behavioral aspects of bullying situations depending on the role (victim, aggressor and bystanders), characteristics of bullying and emotional state. Second, the different profiles involved in bullying and cyberbullying are analyzed, taking into account sociodemographic characteristics, school climate, emotions and, above all, the mechanisms of moral disconnection. The participants were 239 Sicilian schoolchildren aged between 8 and 11 years enrolled in Primary Education. The 51.5% were boys and 48.5% girls. The Bullying Inventory designed by Olweus (1996) in the Italian translation of Genta, Menesini, Fonzi, Costabile and Smith (1996) was used to measure the forms of manifestation of school bullying (physical aggression, verbal aggression, exclusion, cyberbullying¿) based on the role of victim and aggressor as well as the behavior and attitude of the observers when faced with intimidation. In addition, the questionnaire prepared by Bandura and collaborators (Caprara, Barbaranelli, Vicino and Bandura 1996; Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara and Pastorelli, 1996) was used to collect data on the mechanisms of moral disconnection. The study had a favorable report from the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Murcia, which allowed obtaining the informed consent of the parents and the informed consent of the minors. The study has shown that a school climate characterized by the existence of continuous teasing interferes in the emotional state of schoolchildren, causing feelings of sadness, boredom, anger and even distraction from school tasks to appear. The intimidated situations occurred mainly due to exclusions in the group, due to physical appearance or behavior, threats, rumors, insults, physical attacks or cyberbullying. The proportion of observers who supported the aggressor was lower compared to bystanders in defense of the victims. In general, bullying occurred mainly in the courtyard, followed by class change hours, in the bathrooms or locker rooms, during class hours, as well as when entering and leaving the center. Finally, among the roles of those directly involved, it should be noted that the fact of perceiving a serene class climate, with continuous teasing, feelings of sadness in class, and moral justification predicted the role of victim in the schoolchildren in the study. However, age, the perception of a serene climate and continuous teasing predicted the role of aggressor. In the same way, age, a serene, conflictive class climate, feelings of sadness and the mechanisms of moral disconnection of diffusion of responsibility and dehumanization predicted the role of bystanders. The data obtained in the study advance in the knowledge of the mechanisms of moral disconnection, intimidation and cyberbullying. Therefore, it is necessary to develop empathy as a necessary link with prosocial and moral behavior, and to promote educational programs that foster a school climate that enhance coexistence. KEY WORDS: Bullying, Schoolchildren, Moral concept, Education, Emotions, Victims