Bullying and Cyberbullying among Children and Adolescents: A Comparative Analysis of Research Projects Conducted in Poland and Spain. Challenges for Prevention

Abstract

This article shows the results of research focused on the phenomena of bullying and cyberbullying among Polish and Spanish children and adolescents. The first part of this article describes the characteristics of the topic, including genesis and definitions of terms and descriptions of the nature of the phenomena, highlighting the negative consequences of this kind of violence. The second part of this article describes different studies focused on bullying and cyberbullying across the world and in Poland. Against this background, the author’s own research results are described. The aim of this study is to compare the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying among students enrolled in Polish and Spanish schools. An additional aim is to discover developmental tendencies in Poland and Spain whilst taking into account the age and gender of the participants. This research was conducted with the use of international measurement tools. The study included 1,052 Polish and 1,483 Spanish students. The results show that the prevalence of the phenomena is high. In Poland, around 70% of the participants are involved in some form of bullying and around 35% are involved in cyberbullying. In Spain, around 50% of the participants are involved in a form of bullying and around 20% in cyberbullying. Conclusions include the implications for pedagogical practice. Prevention and intervention programs against this kind of violence are needed and should be conducted in both countries.

Keywords

• przemoc rówieśnicza
• bullying
• cyberbullying
• analiza porównawcza
• profilaktyka.