New recommendations to prevent cyberbullying

Social pressure during adolescence, a stage in which children begin to yearn for acceptance and to feel part of a group, is a cause of cyberbullying, as a series of self-justifications lead those who engage in these attacks to not feel responsible for the suffering they cause their victims. This is the conclusion of a study by the Coexistence and Violence Prevention Studies Lab (LAECOVI) at the University of Cordoba, which provides new suggestions to shape psychoeducational programs against cyberbullying, a form of harassment that occurs via the Internet.

For these psychoeducational programs to be effective, they must take into account the wide variety of factors (emotional, moral and social) that influence cyberbullying. One of these factors is related to young people's desire to belong to groups. According to UCO professor Eva Romera Félix, one of the authors of the study, along with Blanca Álvarez Turrado and Daniel Falla, "the implicit or explicit pressure of the group spurs the perpetrators to interpret the situation in a different way, to reduce their levels of guilt, responsibility and shame." That is, peer pressure prompts students to justify their behavior and end up making decisions that violate their own moral standards, but are positively considered by the group.

According to the study, carried out at 12 schools in Cordoba through questionnaires to which 1,487 students ages 11 to 17 responded, these moral cognition mechanisms mitigate the sense of guilt felt by those who participate in these attacks, manifesting in two main ways: distorted consequences, and dehumanization of the victim. That is, either the aggressors tend to downplay the consequences of their behavior, because the victims do not complain, or they dehumanize the victim by concluding that they deserved it, because they are inferior, or based on their behavior (transferring responsibility to the victim).

To a lesser extent, adolescents also shirk their own responsibility for this behavior and end up blaming other people (such as adults, for not being vigilant), or they envision their conduct at something collective, a group phenomenon, rather than something unique to the aggressor. Thus, in the words of Daniel Falla Fernández, "the coldness of screens generates a moral distance from the victims, which can exacerbate the relationship between peer pressure and cyberbullying." Therefore, it is necessary to address the connection between these different variables to identify increasingly specific strategies that help to understand a phenomenon as complex as this one. In this regard, according to the research team it is important that prevention programs work on the humanization and dignification of cybervictims, as, in many cases, they are depersonalized and lost through the screen.

Reference:

Álvarez-Turrado, B., Falla, D., & Romera, E. M. (2024). "Peer Pressure and Cyberaggression in Adolescents: The Mediating Effect of Moral Disengagement Strategies." Youth & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X241306114