Parents against cyberbullying: protective factors

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Bullying is the behavior of peer violence characterized by persistence, intentionality, and the imbalance of power between aggressors and victims. When attacks occur through ICT we are talking about cyberbullying. The role of the child’s family in the bullying could move to the cyberbullying, although there are still not many studies on this subject. Most studies of the child’s family in relation to the cyberbullying have focused, basically, in two respects: its mediating role in the use of ICT and the influence of family communication. This study aims to analyze the influence of family mediation in the use of ICT and family communication, incorporating the perception of parents on communication with children, and on the victimization that occurs in cyberbullying. METHOD. Participants in the study were 813 adolescents attending Secondary Education in Castilla-La Mancha, and their parents. Adolescents have completed the questionnaire of CyberBullying victimization and the Questionnaire of Evaluation of Communication Family, parents the Questionnaire of Evaluation of the Communication Family adapted for parents and a scale of Parental Mediation. RESULTS. The results highlight a significant linear relationship between the variables of the relatives and the victimization in cyberbullying. These variables indicate a differential pattern according to the gender of teens and significance, in both cases, the avoidant children communication. DISCUSSION. Results, which highlighted the relevance of the family context in online harassment children behaviors, have implications for the involvement of the socio-educational intervention professionals.