Bullying and Cyberbullying among Italian Adolescents: The Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Violent Behaviours

Antonio Tintori, Giulia Ciancimino, Giorgio Giovanelli and Loredana Cerbara
Additional contact information
Antonio Tintori: Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRPPS), 00185 Rome, Italy
Giulia Ciancimino: Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRPPS), 00185 Rome, Italy
Giorgio Giovanelli: Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy
Loredana Cerbara: Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IRPPS), 00185 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: Background: The study of adolescents’ behaviours and attitudes is crucial to define interventions for the containment of deviance and social discomfort. New ways of social interaction are crystallising violent behaviours which are moving more than ever on a virtual sphere. Bullying and cyberbullying share a common behavioural matrix that has been outlined through specific environmental and individual characteristics. Methods: A survey carried out in Italy in 2019 on a statistical sample of 3273 students highlighted the influence of several social and individual variables on deviant phenomena. Risk and protective factors in relation to the probability of involvement in bullying and cyberbullying have been shown through a bivariate analysis and a binary logistic regression model. Results: The study shows that presence of stereotypes and social prejudices, tolerance to violence and high levels of self-esteem have resulted as the main risk factors. On the other hand, low levels of tolerance related to the consumption of alcohol and drugs, high levels of trust towards family and friends and being female have been identified as protective factors. Conclusions: This research confirms the validity of several theories on bullying and cyberbullying phenomena. Furthermore, it identifies specific risk and protective factors and their influence on deviant behaviours, with a focus on environmental characteristics which appear as the key field of work to enhance adolescents’ well-being.

Keywords: bullying; cyberbullying; adolescents; social deviance; violent behaviours; psychosocial factors; social conditioning; stereotypes; self-esteem; survey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1558/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/1558/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:4:p:1558-:d:494830

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().