RESUMO

Bullying victimization is strongly associated with increased psychological distress and suicide in adolescents and poor family functioning. Knowledge of gender differences influencing these factors will improve the prevention of mental problems and suicide in victimized adolescents. A total of 1685 Mexican secondary students, 12-17 years old (m = 13.65), of whom 54% were girls, responded to a standardized scale questionnaire to analyze such differences. Based on the statistical analysis, girls reported significantly lower family functioning and higher psychological distress and suicidal ideation than boys. The cluster analysis classified adolescents into high (5.78%), moderate (24.07%), and no-victimization (69.76%) groups. Boys predominated in the high (3.1%) and moderate-victimization (12.4%) clusters, and girls in the no-victimization group (39.51%). Multivariate statistical analyses found significant differences between the three groups, with the highest means of psychological distress and suicidal ideation and lowest family functioning in the high-victimization group. Only for suicidal ideation, there was an interaction between gender and the degree of victimization, with girls showing a higher increase of suicidal ideation than boys in the same cluster. Conclusions: Early detection and intervention in bullying-victimized adolescents, aiming to decrease psychological distress and suicidal ideation and strengthen family functioning, should consider contextual gender differences for effective prevention of mental health problems and suicide in adolescents.

RESUMO

This transversal study over a random representative sample of 1687 Mexican students attending public and private secondary schools (54% girls, 12-17 years old, M = 13.65. DT = 1.14) aimed to analyze psychosocial differences between victims and non-victims of bullying from the bioecological model. It included individual variables (ontosystem), familiar, community, and scholar factors (microsystem), and gender (macrosystem) to perform a multivariate discriminant analysis and a logistic regression analysis. The discriminant analysis found that psychological distress, offensive communication with mother and father, and a positive attitude toward social norms transgression characterized the high victimization cluster. For the non-victims, the discriminant variables were community implication, positive attitude toward institutional authority, and open communication with the mother. These variables allowed for correctly predicting membership in 76% of the cases. Logistic regression analysis found that psychological distress, offensive communication with the father, and being a boy increased the probability of high victimization, while a positive attitude toward authority, open communication with the mother, and being a girl decrease this probability. These results highlight the importance of open and offensive communication between adolescents and their parents on psychological distress, attitude toward authority, community implication, and bullying victimization.

Assuntos

RESUMO

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between family communication problems and cyberbullying, through psychosocial adjustment-psychological distress, attitude towards institutional authority, and problematic use of social networking sites-in adolescents. Random sampling by conglomerates was performed. A total of 8115 adolescents participated in the study (51.5% boys, 49.5% girls), and were aged between 11 and 16 years old (M = 13.34, SD = 1.04) and enrolled in the State of Nuevo León (Mexico). A structural equations model was developed using the Structural Equation Modeling Software (EQS). The results showed that problematic family communication is directly associated with cyberbullying, and also indirectly through the relationships of psychological distress and attitude towards transgression of social norms with the problematic use of social networking sites. The multi-group analyses also revealed gender differences in these relationships. Finally, the obtained results were discussed and their practical implications were shown.

Assuntos

RESUMO

El objetivo del presente trabajo fue examinar la violencia relacional entre iguales desde una perspectiva psicosocial, analizando variables familiares (funcionamiento y comunicación familiar), sociales (reputación social - percibida e ideal - y actitud hacia la autoridad institucional) e individuales (malestar psicológico e ideación suicida) en adolescentes escolarizados. La muestra fue de 8115 adolescentes, con edades comprendidas entre los 11 y los 16 años, del estado de Nuevo León, México. Se realizó un análisis de regresión lineal múltiple, paso a paso, cuyos resultados mostraron que la dimensión más importante en la predicción de la conducta violenta relacional es la autopercepción no conformista, seguido del malestar psicológico. Finalmente, se discuten estos resultados y sus implicaciones.

The aim of this research was to study relational violence between peers from a psychosocial perspective, by analyzing family variables (family functioning and communication), social variables (social reputation ­both perceived and ideal­ and attitude towards institutional authority), and individual variables (psychological distress and suicide ideation) in adolescent students. The sample consisted of 8,115 adolescents aged 11 to 16 years from the State of Nuevo León, Mexico. We performed a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis, the results of which showed that the most important factor in the prediction of violent relational behavior at school is the nonconformist self-perception, followed by psychological distress. Finally, these results and their implications are discussed.

RESUMO

Resumen El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la participación de los adolescentes en conductas violentas, a partir de un modelo estructural, en una muestra aleatoria y estratificada de 1 498 estudiantes de 5.º y 6.º de primaria y de los tres niveles de secundaria de escuelas públicas de Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México. Se utilizaron cuestionarios de autoinforme con respuestas Likert, midiendo violencia escolar, funcionamiento familiar y actitud hacia la autoridad. Las conductas violentas correlacionaron negativamente con el buen funcionamiento familiar (valores altos de unión/apoyo). El funcionamiento familiar correlacionó negativamente con la conducta violenta de forma indirecta, a través de la actitud hacia la autoridad institucional y la transgresión de normas. Finalmente se discuten los resultados.

Abstract The aim of this study was to analyze the students´ participation in violent behavior in a sample of 1498 adolescents attending 5th and 6th grades (elementary school) and the three levels of middle school in public schools of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México, using a structural model. We utilized self-report questionnaires with Likert-type answers, measuring school violence, family function and attitude toward institutional authority. Results revealed that violent behavior in school were negatively related with a good family function (high scores of family union and support). Good family function related indirectly and negatively with violent behavior through attitude towards institutional authority and rules transgression. Finally, we discuss the findings.

Assuntos