School Bullying: Empathy among Perpetrators and Victims

Carlos Salavera, Pablo Usán, Pilar Teruel, Eva Urbón and Victor Murillo
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Carlos Salavera: Research Group OPIICS, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Pablo Usán: Research Group OPIICS, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Pilar Teruel: Research Group OPIICS, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Eva Urbón: Research Group OPIICS, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Victor Murillo: Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences, University of Zaragoza, 22002 Huesca, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 3, 1-9

Abstract: This study analyses the relationship between empathy and school bullying, taking both perpetrators and victims into consideration. The study sample comprised 840 students, 423 of which were female (50.36%), aged an average of 14.28 years. The instruments used were an ad hoc questionnaire for socioeconomic variables and bullying behaviour, an empathy questionnaire, and a personality questionnaire. Victims yielded higher scores in terms of empathic concern, while both groups, aggressors and victims, yielded similar results in terms of cognitive and affective empathy. Concerning the correlation between these variables and personality, anxiety was found to be correlated with affective empathy and empathetic concern in both groups. A correlation between cognitive empathy and impulsiveness and activity was also found in both groups. Remarkably, aggression and cognitive empathy were found to be correlated, but only among victims. Finally, experiences with classmates, anxiety, sincerity, and aggression were found to act as predictors of school bullying, while gender and aggression factors were found to act as predictors among perpetrators, but to a lesser extent, which suggests that other factors must be in place for bullying behaviour to occur. The results suggest that, although empathy levels are different in both groups, they cannot act as a predictor of bullying, especially concerning perpetrators.

Keywords: empathy; assessment; perpetrators; victims; school bullying (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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