Abstract
Issues of bullying and cyberbullying among schoolchildren are nowadays a matter of international concern, with school bullies, cyberbullies, and victims having become a topic of public concern and research in various countries around the world. This chapter, besides a definition of bullying and cyberbullying, explains the characteristics, types, causes, and consequences of these acts based on findings from various studies. In addition, the chapter presents some school-based intervention programs, implemented in different school settings, with the aim of effectively reducing levels of bullying and cyberbullying in schools. Finally, the chapter aims to provide guidelines and propose best practices in order to fight acts of violence and aggression.
TopBackground
The phenomena of bullying, and more recently cyberbullying, have been studied for several years. In the 1990s there was in increase in the research on this phenomenon at international level. Bullying and cyberbullying are relational phenomena and concern the human relations between the bully, the victim and the spectators, without forgetting every adult who has the duty to educate and guide them in the formation of their personality (Smith & Monks, 2002). Different definitions have therefore been given to these phenomena.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Prosocial Behavior: Behavior which is concretized in actions directed at benefiting and helping other people without seeking external compensation.
Social Network: Web service which allows creating and managing a personal space in which to post pictures, videos, links, express impressions, states of mind, share thoughts and comment your own posts and those of others.
Self-Esteem: PA subjective process which leads the individual to assessing themselves thanks to self-approval of their value based on self-perceptions.
Empathy: Capacity of understanding the state of mind of others and putting yourself in their shoes.
Deviant Behavior: Behavior which is dissociated from the norms shared in a specific social context.
Anxiety: Psychic state characterized by a sensation of fear and intense worry, without an evident cause and deriving from an interior conflict.
Parental Control: System of checking navigation on the internet with the purpose of avoiding content considered negative.