Personal and ethnic-cultural bullying in the Peruvian Amazon: Prevalence, overlap and predictors

Most studies about personal bullying and ethnic-cultural bullying have been carried out in Western countries without analysing if adolescents are involved only in personal bullying, ethnic-cultural bullying, or both. This study is based in Peruvian Amazonia, a multi-cultural context where not much research has been done, with the aim to understand the overlap of personal and ethnic-cultural bullying as well as their predictors. The sample is made up of 607 students (48.3 girls and 51.7% boys) between the ages of 12 and 19 (Mage = 14.5, SD = 1.69) from a region in Peruvian Amazonia which completed a self-report questionnaire. Ethnic-cultural bullying and personal bullying are prevalent and overlapped phenomena, being the ethnic-cultural group of the Native Americans the most implicated in victimization and/or aggression. Regarding the overlapping roles resulting from personal bullying and ethnic-cultural bullying (mixed roles), personal victimization is predicted by low assertiveness, and it is related to older age. The mixed role of personal and ethnic-cultural victim is related to a high affective empathy, an indigenous ethnic-cultural group and low conflict resolution skills. The role of personal bully-victim and ethnic-cultural victim is related to being older. Personal and ethnic-cultural bully-victims are older males with lower self-esteem and assertiveness. The results are discussed in relation to education programs about prevention and mitigation of bullying and ethnic-cultural bullying.