Adolescents’ Self and Bullying Victimisation: The Key Role of Gender

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: The primary factors influencing victimisation in bullying have recently become a topic of debate in the psychological literature. This research sought to explore the association between self-criticism (as captured in terms of inadequate self, hated self, and reassured self) and bullying victimisation, also addressing the moderating effects of gender. <b>Methods</b>: This study relies on a cross-sectional research design, enrolling a sample of 328 adolescents (M_age = 14.93; SD_age = 0.81; 162 females, 49.4%). Participants completed a short questionnaire about their age, gender, and family's socio-economic status. They also answered questions from the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale and the Florence Bullying and Victimisation Scales. <b>Results</b>: Statistical analysis indicated gender moderated only the interplay between hated self and bullying victimisation. <b>Conclusions</b>: Through a multidimensional approach, these findings provided further insight into the primary factors of self to the phenomenon of bullying victimisation, also yielding further evidence about the key role of gender during a critical developmental stage, such as adolescence. Limitations, implications, and future research directions are discussed.