Bullying and cyberbullying in LGBT adolescents: Prevalence and effects on mental health

Abstract

Bullying and cyberbullying have negative consequences on adolescents’ mental health. The study had two objectives: 1) to analyze possible differences in sexual orientation (heterosexual and non-heterosexual) in the percentage of victims and aggressors of bullying/cyberbullying, as well as the amount of aggressive behavior suffered and carried out; 2) to compare the mental health of adolescent heterosexual and non-heterosexual victims, aggressors, cybervictims, and cyberaggressors. Participants included 1,748 adolescents from the Basque Country, aged between 13 and 17 years (52.6% girls, 47.4% boys), 12.5% non-heterosexuals, 87.5% heterosexuals, who completed 4 assessment instruments. A descriptive and comparative cross-sectional methodology was used. The results confirm that: 1) the percentage of victims and cybervictims was significantly higher in non-heterosexuals, but the percentage of heterosexual and non-heterosexual aggressors and cyberaggressors was similar; 2) non-heterosexual victims and cybervictims had suffered significantly more aggressive bullying/cyberbullying; 3) non-heterosexual victims and aggressors of bullying exhibited significantly more depression, social anxiety, and psychopathological symptoms (somatization, obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity…) than heterosexuals; 4) non-heterosexual cybervictims and cyberaggressors displayed more depression and more psychopathological symptoms, but no differences were found in social anxiety. The importance of intervening from the family, school, and society to reduce bullying/cyberbullying and enhance respect for sexual diversity is discussed. Acoso y ciberacoso tienen consecuencias muy negativas en la salud mental de los adolescentes. El estudio tuvo dos objetivos: 1) analizar si existen diferencias en función de la orientación sexual (heterosexuales y no-heterosexuales) en el porcentaje de víctimas y agresores de acoso y ciberacoso, así como en la cantidad de conducta agresiva sufrida-realizada; 2) comparar la salud mental de adolescentes heterosexuales y no-heterosexuales que han sido víctimas, agresores, cibervíctimas y ciberagresores. Participaron 1.748 adolescentes del País Vasco, entre 13 y 17 años (52,6% chicas, 47,4% chicos), 12,5% no-heterosexuales, 87,5% heterosexuales, que cumplimentaron 4 instrumentos de evaluación. Se utilizó una metodología descriptiva y comparativa transversal. Los resultados confirman que: 1) el porcentaje de víctimas y cibervíctimas fue significativamente mayor en el grupo no-heterosexual, sin embargo, el porcentaje de agresores y ciberagresores heterosexuales y no-heterosexuales fue similar; 2) víctimas y cibervíctimas no-heterosexuales habían sufrido significativamente más cantidad de conductas agresivas de acoso/ciberacoso; 3) víctimas y agresores de acoso no-heterosexuales comparados con heterosexuales tenían significativamente más depresión, ansiedad social y síntomas psicopatológicos diversos (somatización, obsesión-compulsión, sensibilidad interpersonal…); 4) cibervíctimas y ciberagresores no-heterosexuales también presentaban más depresión y más síntomas psicopatológicos diversos, sin embargo, en ansiedad social no se hallaron diferencias. El debate se centra en la importancia de intervenir desde la familia, la escuela y la sociedad, para reducir el acoso/ciberacoso y estimular el respeto por la diversidad sexual.

Homophobic Verbal and Bullying Victimization: Overlap and Emotional Impact

“…Regarding prevalence, numerous studies have shown homophobic bullying to be more prevalent than bullying, recording rates between 30 and 75-80% of victims in most studies carried out over the last decade in Europe and the USA (e.g., European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2013;Hinduja & Patchin, 2020;Kosciw et al, 2018). Studies in Spain report the same trend, namely a higher prevalence rate of bullying and cyberbullying in sexual minorities (Benítez, 2016a;Llorent et al, 2016;Pichardo & de Stéfano, 2015), with some studies identifying almost twice as many non-heterosexual student victims in bullying and cyberbullying than heterosexual student victims (Elipe et al, 2018;Garaigordobil & Larrain, 2020). In general, research indicates that LGBTQ + 1 youth report being the target of homophobic bullying more so than straight-identified youth (for meta-analyses, see Fedewa & Ahn, 2011;Toomey & Russell, 2016).…”

“…However, the way in which each study has operationalized homophobic bullying varies, making it difficult to establish clear conclusions. Specifically, some studies collect data on bullying (or cyberbullying) and identify differences in prevalence according to gender or sexual orientation, assuming that victimization (e.g., physical, verbal, social exclusion) in sexual minorities would be homophobic bullying because of their targets (e.g., Elipe et al, 2018;Garaigordobil & Larrain, 2020;Hinduja & Patchin, 2020;Llorent et al, 2016). Other studies directly ask whether victimization (or cybervictimization) is motivated by sexual orientation or gender (e.g., Benitez, 2016a; Kosciw et al, 2018;Poteat et al, 2013).…”

“…Other studies directly ask whether victimization (or cybervictimization) is motivated by sexual orientation or gender (e.g., Benitez, 2016a; Kosciw et al, 2018;Poteat et al, 2013). A limited number also include specific types of homophobic victimization, that is, homophobic-specific aggressive behaviors, mainly verbal homophobic victimization (Poteat & Espelage, 2007;Pichardo & de Stéfano, 2015), whereas some studies use communitybased school samples (e.g., Elipe et al, 2018;Garaigordobil & Larrain, 2020;Hinduja & Patchin, 2020;Llorent et al, 2016); others use samples encompassing minority sexual youth only (e.g., European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2013;Kosciw et al, 2018).…”

Prevalencia e influencia de la violencia homofóbica sobre la sintomatología depresiva y el nivel de autoestima

“…El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido analizar la prevalencia de la violencia homofóbica sufrida a lo largo de la vida y su relación con la sintomatología depresiva y el nivel de autoestima. Aunque existen numerosos trabajos que analizan las repercusiones del bullying homofóbico sobre la salud mental de los adolescentes (Elipe et al, 2018;Garaigordobil y Larrain, 2020), todavía no existe suficiente evidencia empírica que permita determinar si las consecuencias de este tipo de victimización se mantienen en la adultez.…”

Bullying LGTBI-fóbico en el contexto rural y urbano gallego

“…Identifying differences regarding the sex of the victims and the ways in which it materializes. Being verbal violence the one that registers a greater frequency (more in men than in women), followed by isolation or exclusion (especially in women) and physical violence (to a greater extent in men); despite evidencing multiple typologies and subtypes (Hernández, López % Ramírez, 2019;Gómez, et col., 2019;Landazabal & Larrain, 2020). There is a link between the victims and the aggressors regarding sex (women to women and men to men), although it is not exclusive.…”