Socio-emotional e-competencies, cyberaggression, and cybervictimisation in adolescents: differences according to sex and academic year

Abstract The socialisation of adolescent boys and girls takes place primarily online in virtual environments, where cyberbullying is one of the greatest current social dangers faced by that age group. Socio-emotional e-competencies (i.e., competencies that apply specifically to online environments) are a protective factor against cyberaggression and cybervictimisation, and research has shown that the variables of sex and academic year (age) play a relevant role in that interaction. Although such socio-emotional e-competencies have been shown to play an adaptive role in further types of online behaviour, they have not yet been studied specifically in relation to cyberaggression and cybervictimisation. Our study’s goal was thus to ascertain whether socio-emotional e-competencies have a predictive value for cyberaggression and cybervictimisation, and whether differences can be observed according to sex or academic year. Participants were 945 Spanish adolescents (56.5% female, 43.5% male) ages 12 to 16 (mean age: 13.80, DE = 1.27) enrolled in 13 secondary schools. Data were collected via self-report questionnaires ( European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire [ECIP-Q] and Socio-Emotional E-Competencies Questionnaire [e-COM]) . We observed differences according to sex and academic year in cyberbullying behaviour and socio-emotional e-competencies. Moreover, significant relationships can be established between socio-emotional e-competencies, on the one hand, and cyberaggression and cybervictimisation, on the other, with differences among groups as revealed by SEM multigroup analysis. The levels of emotional e-regulation in girls and e-self-control of impulsivity in boys across all academic years explain most instances of cybervictimisation and cyberaggression, especially in younger-aged groups. These findings provide a new focus to help prevent cyberbullying.