Cyberbullying and Social Anxiety: A Latent Class Analysis among Spanish Adolescents

María C. Martínez-Monteagudo, Beatriz Delgado, Cándido J. Inglés and Raquel Escortell
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María C. Martínez-Monteagudo: Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactic, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Beatriz Delgado: Department of Developmental Psychology and Didactic, University of Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
Cándido J. Inglés: Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, 03202 Alicante, Spain
Raquel Escortell: Faculty of Education, International University of La Rioja, 26006 Logrono, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Cyberbullying is a common social maladjustment that has negative repercussions on the wellbeing and development of adolescents, but numerous questions remain as to the relationship between cyberbullying and social anxiety in adolescence. This study analyzes cyberbullying profiles (screening of harassment among peers) and assesses whether these profiles vary with respect to the level of social anxiety (social anxiety scale for adolescents). The sample consisted of 1412 Spanish secondary education students aged 12 to 18 ( M = 14.36, SD = 1.65). Latent class analysis and ANOVA were performed. Analyses revealed three profiles: high cyberbullying (high victimization, aggression, and aggression-victimization), low cyberbullying (moderate victimization, aggression, and aggression-victimization), and non-cyberbullying. The cyberbullying patterns varied significantly for all social anxiety subscales. Students with the high cyberbullying profile (bully–victims) presented high scores on social avoidance and distress in social situations in general with peers, whereas these students presented lower levels of fear of negative evaluation and distress and social avoidance in new situations as compared to the low cyberbullying (rarely victim/bully) and non-involved student profiles. Implications for psychologists and educational counselors and cyberbullying preventive interventions are discussed.

Keywords: cyberbullying; victimization; aggression; social anxiety; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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