Perceived class cohesion as a protection strategy against cyber-bullying in vulnerable students: A study of secondary school students

Abstract

Cyber-bullying represents a form of verbal or psychological aggression, carried out intentionally and repeatedly, and perpetuated using digital devices that has negative consequences on the health and well-being of adolescents. This phenomenon is prevented by contextual and dispositional factors. For this reason, our study investigated both these factors, specifically, the role of the perceived class cohesion in presence of vulnerability factors, that is, low levels of positivity. The results collected on a sample of 689 high school students (M_age = 17.3) suggest that the association between perceived class cohesion and victimisation was moderated by positivity. When young people with low positivity perceived low levels of social cohesion in the group, they experienced more cyberbullying victimisation. However, when high levels of perceived group cohesion were present, these experiences were reduced, regardless of their level of positivity. These results underline the importance of building a positive climate in the class group to prevent cyber-bullying in adolescence, especially for the most vulnerable individuals.