APS Convencion

Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescence

Antonio Camacho

Senior Lecturer · Departament of Psychology

Universidad de Córdoba (Spain)

antonio.camacho@uco.es

LAECOVI team

Working team

Co-Editor

Editorial board

Session outline

The current landscape

Understanding Bullying & Cyberbullying Phenomena

Evidence-based prevention: What actually works

Research in Action: CareMe program

Discussion and Q&A

The current landscape

Misonception 1: All school fights/conflicts are bullying

Fact: Bullying requires an intentional, repeated power imbalance

Misonception 2: It's just kids being kids

Fact: It is a severe dynamic of peer violence with long-lasting psychological impacts

Misonception 3: Bullying is always physical

Fact: Verbal and relational are highly prevalent and equally damaging.

Misonception 4: They are just jokes and nicknames

Fact: Disguising harassment as humor normalizes abuse and deeply affects self-esteem

What is bullying?

(Olweus, 1993; Ortega-Ruiz, 2020)

Immoral behavior

Intentionality

Power imbalance

Repetition

School bullying is a damaging social process that is characterized by an imbalance of power. It is often repeated and causes physical, social, and emotional harm to the targeted individuals or groups, and the wider school community

(UNESCO, 2023)

Is cyberbullying a different form of bullying?

Unique characteristics

• Perceived anonymity
• Digital footprint
• Wider audience
• No safe haven

Shared characteristics

• Intentionality
• Power imbalance
• Targeted harm

(Kowalski et al., 2014; Smith et al., 2008; Tokunaga, 2010)

Prevalence

Individual → 49%Group → 51%

Perpetration

Defenders40%

Bystanders13-29%

Pro-bullying13-28%

Victimization

88-92% acknowledge they have been defended

(Ariani et al., 2025; Bravo et al., in press; Ma et al., 2019; Romera et al., in press)

Prevalence

(n = 2,582)

(n = 2,617)

(n = 4,248)

Uninvolved

Victims

Perpetrators

Bully-victim

Understanding Bullying & Cyberbullying Phenomena

Protective factors - Risk factors

Bullying perpetration Cyberbullying perpetration

School and community: Violence exposure / High parental monitoring / Teacher-student relationship Peer factors: Social status / Peer influence / Need for popularity / Deviant peer affiliation Individual: Externalizing problems / High ICT use / Callous-unemotional traits

Bullying victimization Cyberbullying victimization

School and community: School safety / Parental Warmth-authoritative/ Minority status vulnerability Peer factors: Low social acceptance / Peer support / Health context paradox Individual: Internalizing problems / Online exposure / Social, emotional and moral competence

Defending

School and community: School belonging / Anti-bullying classroom norms / Perceived teacher support Peer factors: Social acceptance / High-quality friendships / Friendship with the victim Individual: Resistance to peer influence / Social, emotional and moral competence

Passive bystanding

School and community: Inconsistent school rules / Low perceived teacher support Peer factors: Out-group bias / Status insecurity / Pluralistic ignorance / Bystander effect Individual: Diffusion of responsibility / Fear of retaliation / Minimizing the agentic-role / Low self-efficacy

Pro-bullying

School and community: Pro-bullying classroom norms / Low quality of parental attachment Peer factors: Pluralistic ignorance / Deviant peer affiliation / Dominance orientation Individual: Vulnerability to peer pressure / Victims blaming-dehumanization / Callous-unemotional traits

(Meta-analyses: Grama et al., 2024; Ma et al., 2019; Marciano et al., 2020; Tian et al., 2025; Wiertsema et al., 2023; Zych et al., 2019)

(Empirical studies: Bravo et al., 2024; Camacho et al., 2025; García-Carrera et al., 2026; Romera et al., 2023; Sjögren et al., 2024; Zhao et al., 2024)

(Systematic reviews: Lambe et al., 2019; Volk et al., 2012, 2022)

Variance decomposition

Level 1: % Individual trait (between-person)

Level 2: % Context (between-classroom)

9%

9%

10%

29%

5%

24%

5%

5%

5%

N/A

43%

47%

51%

46%

65%

46%

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

(Álvarez-García et al., 2022; Camacho et al., 2023, 2025; Elledge et al., 2013; Malamut et al., 2025; Romera et al., 2021, 2022; Schultze-Krumbholz et al., 2020; Thornberg et al., 2022, 2023, 2024)

Decision-making and moral sensitivity in the framework of peer networks and the phenomenon of bullying PI: Eva Romera; 2021-2025

(Álvarez-Turrado et al., 2025; Bravo et al., 2024a, 2024b; Cabrera-Vázquez et al., 2025, 2026a, 2026b; Camacho et al., 2025a, 2025b; Dueñas-Casado et al., 2025; Falla et al., 2025; García-Carrera et al., 2025, 2026; Misas et al., 2026; Ojeda et al., 2024; Romera et al., 2024)

Decision-making and moral sensitivity in the framework of peer networks and the phenomenon of bullying PI: Eva Romera; 2021-2025

(Álvarez-Turrado et al., 2025; Bravo et al., 2024a, 2024b; Cabrera-Vázquez et al., 2025, 2026a, 2026b; Camacho et al., 2025a, 2025b; Dueñas-Casado et al., 2025; Falla et al., 2025; García-Carrera et al., 2025, 2026; Misas et al., 2026; Ojeda et al., 2024; Romera et al., 2024)

Decision-making and moral sensitivity in the framework of peer networks and the phenomenon of bullying PI: Eva Romera; 2021-2025

(Álvarez-Turrado et al., 2025; Bravo et al., 2024a, 2024b; Cabrera-Vázquez et al., 2025, 2026a, 2026b; Camacho et al., 2025a, 2025b; Dueñas-Casado et al., 2025; Falla et al., 2025; García-Carrera et al., 2025, 2026; Misas et al., 2026; Ojeda et al., 2024; Romera et al., 2024)

Decision-making and moral sensitivity in the framework of peer networks and the phenomenon of bullying PI: Eva Romera; 2021-2025

(Álvarez-Turrado et al., 2025; Bravo et al., 2024a, 2024b; Cabrera-Vázquez et al., 2025, 2026a, 2026b; Camacho et al., 2025a, 2025b; Dueñas-Casado et al., 2025; Falla et al., 2025; García-Carrera et al., 2025, 2026; Misas et al., 2026; Ojeda et al., 2024; Romera et al., 2024)

Better help? Decision and effectiveness of helping in bullying PI: Eva Romera; 2025-2029

❶ What personal and relational factors influence a student’s decision to help a victim of bullying?❷ How do helping behaviours change over the course of development, and what makes them stable or changeable? ❸ What kind of help actually reduces victimisation and its emotional impact?

Evidence-based prevention: What actually works

Evidence-based prevention: What actually works

• SAFE approach

• Developmental approach

• Flexible and needs-based prevention

Design principles

• Multicomponent: Social, emotional and moral learning

• Bystander-focused modules

• Online and offline integration

Core program content

• Whole-school approach

• Teacher involvement and training

• Sustained implementation

• Cross-curricular learning

School-wide foundations

(Durlak et al., 2011; Fraguas et al., 2021; Gaffney et al., 2021; Hensums et al., 2023; Humphrey, 2010, 2013; Jones & Doolittle, 2017; Ortega-Ruiz, 2020; Romera et al., 2024; Salmivalli et al., 2021; Shi y Cheugh, 2024)

Challenges for effective implementation

• Family involvement

• Integration of online life

• Transfer to leisure and peer contexts

Ecological expansion

• Developmental sensitivity

• Balancing flexibility and coherence

• Context-sensitive adaptation

Design considerations

• Community partnerships

• Teacher time and training

• Implementation fidelity

• Team culture and collective commitment

• Long-term sustainability

Implementation capacity

(Donohoo, 2017; Durlak et al., 2011; Greenberg, 2023; Jones & Doolittle, 2017; Kamei & Harriott, 2021; Romera et al., 2024; Taylor et al., 2017; Weissberg et al., 2015)

Research in Action

(Romera et al., 2024)

Where does CareMe come from?

Identification of theoretical models and scientific evidence

Co-design with teachers: feasibility and challenges

Focus groups with students: realism and illustrative examples

Teacher feedback during training sessions and the initial pilot phase

(Romera et al., 2024)

(Romera et al., 2024)

Sessions in Primary School

(Romera et al., 2024)

Sessions in Secondary School

(Romera et al., 2024)

Discusssion and Q&A

Take-home message

Bullying and cyberbullying are not only behavioural problems, but developmental, social, and moral phenomena

Students’ roles in bullying are shaped not only by individual traits, but also by peer dynamics and classroom context

Effective prevention depends both on evidence-based content and on high-quality, sustainable implementation

Building convivencia is not separate from bullying prevention; it is one of its most meaningful and sustainable forms

Bullying and Cyberbullying in Adolescence

Antonio Camacho

antonio.camacho@uco.es www.laecovi.com

Questions & answers