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Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescents: A Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Interventions

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Psychiatry and Neuroscience Update

Abstract

Bullying and cyberbullying are important risk factors for the mental health of adolescents. Bullying is defined as an intentional aggression, repeated on time, and characterized by a difference of powers between the victim and the aggressor. Cyberbullying is an aggression with the same characteristics of the bullying but carried out on the cyberspace. Despite the relevance of this problem, there is no meta-analysis that determines the effectiveness of interventions directed to reduce both problems. In this way, the objective of this book chapter is to present meta-analysis that addresses the effectiveness of interventions directed to reduce bullying, victimization, cyberbullying, and cybervictimization in adolescents. A systematic review of scientific papers published in Spanish, English, and Portuguese was conducted between 2000 and 2018. The databases included were as follows: SciELO, PubMed, JSTOR, Dialnet, EBSCO, Latindex, and PsycINFO. After the research, 16 articles were included in the traditional bullying meta-analysis, 14 articles were included in the traditional victimization meta-analysis, 11 articles were included in the cyberbullying meta-analysis, and finally 8 articles were included in the cybervictimization meta-analysis. The size of the effect of bullying and cyberbullying interventions was analysed to establish which one is more effective. Comparing bullying and cyberbullying, the results of the present study indicated that bullying programmes were a bit more effective than cyberbullying programmes, while the effect size of the intervention programme on victimization and cybervictimization were similar. Explanations about why interventions on bullying are more successful and implications of these findings are provided and analysed in the conclusion. Finally, suggestions for future studies are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Filosofía, Universidad Austral - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) - Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Santiago Resett

  2. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental (CIIPME)- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones, Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Instituo de Filosofía, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Belén Mesurado

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  1. Santiago Resett
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  1. Laboratory of Neurosciences and Experimental Psychology Latin American Technological Corporation Foundation (FUCOTEL) Cathedra of Psychopathology, Catholic University of Argentina Area of Pharmacology Department of Pathology, National University of Cuyo CONICET, Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina

    Pascual Ángel Gargiulo

  2. National Academy of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Humberto Luis Mesones Arroyo

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Resett, S., Mesurado, B. (2021). Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescents: A Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Interventions. In: Gargiulo, P.Á., Mesones Arroyo, H.L. (eds) Psychiatry and Neuroscience Update. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61721-9_32

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