Impact of School Violence and School Climate on Victimization and Perpetration in Adolescent Bullying and Cyberbullying
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20252273Keywords:
Bullying, Cyberbullying, School violence, School climateAbstract
Introduction: bullying and cyberbullying are systematic forms of school violence that significantly impact students’ psychosocial well-being and the overall institutional climate. Beyond individual-level factors, certain contextual dynamics—such as low-intensity recurrent violence and a deteriorated school climate—may facilitate the emergence and persistence of these behaviors.
Objective: to examine the complex interactions among school violence, school climate, and the roles of victimization and aggression involved in bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents.
Method: a sample of 200 adolescents from a public school in Medellín, Colombia, was assessed to examine behaviors related to bullying and cyberbullying, as well as perceptions of school climate and institutional violence. Four validated questionnaires were administered to measure victimization, aggression, school climate, and school violence across multiple dimensions. Data analysis involved exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with corrections for non-normality. Model validity and reliability were evaluated using multiple goodness-of-fit indices.
Results: school violence showed a weak negative effect on school climate and a weak positive effect on both aggression and victimization roles in bullying and cyberbullying; school climate had a significant effect only on the aggression role in traditional bullying; and school climate did not mediate the relationship between school violence and the aggression or victimization roles in either bullying or cyberbullying.
Conclusion: the findings suggest that while school climate is modestly linked to aggression in traditional bullying, it does not act as a mediating factor in the broader relationship between school violence and the dynamics of bullying and cyberbullying. These results underscore the importance of addressing contextual risk factors in comprehensive violence prevention strategies within school settings.
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