Cyberbullying in school environments: analyzing sociodemographic factors in Spanish students in the context of physical education

INTRODUCTION. Cyberbullying is a growing problem of great social concern. Today’s students face a major cyber threat, despite being more connected than ever before. This insidious behavior can have serious consequences for the mental health and academic performance of those affected. Knowing that Physical Education has a direct impact on these behaviors, the aim of this study is to analyze cyberbullying in the physical education classroom based on nine sociodemographic variables and 22 questions from the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire in a sample of 1232 Spanish students (aged 8 to 18 years). METHODS. A non-probabilistic convenience-based method was used to determine the sample size. To validate the assumption of normality in the statistical analysis, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used. Non-parametric tests were used when this assumption was not met. The same variables were examined as in the differences according to the questionnaire items, in addition to five nominal sociodemographic questions differentiated according to the two dimensions of the questionnaire. Significant differences were observed between groups. The correlation between the dimension scores and the four continuous demographic questions was then examined using Spearman’s rho test. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha was used to assess the internal consistency. RESULTS. Although there are determinant variables of cyberbullying, sex did not seem to be one of them, although other studies have shown a wide range of results, establishing that context determines this behavior. Age and school cycle have more homogeneous evidence in this aspect, both in victimization and in the aggressor part. Access to smartphones and the Internet play a determining role. CONCLUSIONS. This study found that several factors influence cyberbullying. It would be interesting if prevention and educacommunicationprograms with respect to new information technologies were approved in administrations and school institutions, as well as detailing how harmful this type of abuse and others can be.