The dynamic of cyberbullying in university students: moderating effects of gender and culture

Authors

Sidclay B. Souza Department of Psychology, Universidad Católica del Maule
Paula Costa Ferreira Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL)
Ana Margarida Veiga Simão Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL)
Daniel Falla Department of Psychology, University of Cordoba

https://doi.org/10.17583/remie.8999

Keywords:

cyberbullying

role overlap

university students

gender

cultural issues

moderating effects

Type:

6943

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze the influence of gender and cultural issues on the role overlapping of cyberbullying. For this purpose, 1340 university students (34.1% men; 65.9% women) from Brazil (44.2%) and Portugal (55.8%) participated in the study. Moderation analyses reveal a significant gender interaction in the relationship between cybervictims and cyberaggressors, as well as between cyberbystander and cyberaggressors. In addition, cybervictims and cyberbystander from Brazil presented a greater tendency to be cyberaggressors than university students from Portugal. Finally, we found that men from both countries who are cybervictims showed a greater tendency than women to be cyberaggressors. The results are discussed, and the implications of the study are presented. We conclude by highlighting the importance of knowing the cultural and gender aspects in the dynamics established in cyberbullying and especially in the overlapping of roles, since such information can be valuable in intervention programs. In addition, the need to work on cyberbullying in higher education is emphasized.

Author Biographies

Paula Costa Ferreira, Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL)

Researcher in Educational Psychology at the Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL). She finished a Postdoc in Educational Psychology at the Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL) and at the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Research and Development (INESC-ID) at the Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa in Lisbon. She is an Invited Assistant Professor at the FPUL. She has a PhD in Educational Psychology and a master’s degree in Education. She is currently responsible for the Cyberbullying Line of Investigation of the Research Group entitled Educational and Vocational Psychology at CICPSI. Paula has been a researcher in funded projects, such as "Cyberbullying: The regulation of behavior through language" with FPUL and INESC-ID and the "Problem-solving Project" with FPUL and the Lisbon City Council. Her main research interests focus on cyberbullying, moral agency, the bystander effect, self-regulation of learning, emotions, motivation and behavior, as well as technology (i.e., serious games, affective and moral computing) to promote learning and pro-social behavior.

Ana Margarida Veiga Simão, Research Center for Psychological Science (CICPSI) of the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Lisbon (FPUL)

Full professor, Psychology Faculty, University of Lisbon; Coordinator of the Research Program on Self-regulated Learning (PEAAR) Faculty of Psychology; Coordinator of the Graduate Training Network (GTN) focusing on the Inter-University Doctoral Program in Educational Psychology with the University of Coimbra. Aggregation in Psychology, University of Lisbon, Psychology and Education Faculty; PhD in Education Sciences, University of Lisbon, Psychology and Education Faculty; Master degree in Education Psychology, University of Lisbon; Graduate on Psychology, University of Lisbon; Course of professorship, School Magisterial Primary, Lisbon.

Daniel Falla, Department of Psychology, University of Cordoba

Professor and Researcher at the University of Córdoba (Spain) and a member of the LAECOVI research team. He studied Psychology at the University of Jaén (Spain), has a Maste´r Degree in Psychological Intervention and Research in the Justice Administration, Healthcare and Social Welfare and a PhD in Applied Psychology from the University of Córdoba. His main research interest is focused on bullying and aggressive behaviors, devoting special attention to students with disabilities or with some type of need and in implicit aspects of the phenomenon such as emotions and morality.

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