Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Sexual Harassment Aggression in Spanish Adolescents: Common and Differential Risk Factors

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bullying, cyberbullying, and sexual harassment are violent phenomena that co-occur in adolescence and across the lifespan. Exploring the common and differential factors of these interpersonal aggressions is essential to decreasing violence in schools. The present study built upon previous literature on the subject, including the moderating role of gender. Specifically, this study analyzed the role of moral disengagement, peer group pressure, anger management and empathy on bullying, cyberbullying, and sexual harassment aggression. In total, 897 Spanish adolescent students (50.10% girls) between 15 and 18 years old (M = 15.50, SD = 0.68) participated in a cross-sectional survey. Results showed that bullying, cyberbullying, and sexual harassment were all correlated. Greater levels of moral disengagement, peer group pressure, and lower anger management predicted all three types of aggressive behavior. Affective empathy was only related to sexual harassment. Multiple Group Analysis indicated no differences regarding associated factors on the basis of gender. Knowing the common and differential factors of these three types of interpersonal violence is crucial to comprehensively develop cross-cutting programs to address violence in schools.