Understanding Psychological Factors in Bullying and Cyberbullying: A Psychometric Network Approach

Bullying and cyberbullying are common negative experiences among youth (Chisholm, 2014). In Italy approximately 14% of students (ages 11-15) report engaging in bullying behaviors, while 13% are involved in cyberbullying (EpiCentro, n.d.). Given the impact on youth's psychological and social development, understanding the psychological factors contributing to these behaviors is crucial. The psychometric network approach, which explores the dynamic interactions between psychological variables, provides an innovative method for studying adolescents involvement in these phenomena. The aim of this study is to explore the differences in the psychological networks of perpetrators bullying and cyberbullying and uninvolved adolescents. Specifically, we seek to understand how multiple psychological variables, ranging from stable personality traits (e.g., neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, openness) to more malleable social-cognitive variables (e.g., empathy, aggression, moral disengagement), and self-efficacy dimensions (e.g., academic self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, regulatory self-efficacy), interact within each group’s network. The study aims to identifying which variables acquire a central role within the network and which ones have the most significant influence on the overall network configuration. The sample consisted of 331 adolescents (M = 11.97, SD = 0.79, 51% male) attending middle schools in the metropolitan area of Rome. Participants who reported having committed at least one act of bullying or cyberbullying were categorized as "perpetrators," while those who answered "no" to all related questions were classified as "uninvolved." The following measures were used: the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C; Barbaranelli et al., 2003) to assess personality traits, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Albiero et al., 2006) to measure empathy, the Moral-Civil Disengagement Scale (Caprara et al., 2006) to assess moral disengagement, the Scale of Propensity for Physical and Verbal Aggression (Caprara & Pastorelli, 1993) to evaluate aggression, and the Children’s Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (Pastorelli et al., 2001) to assess social, regulatory, and academic self-efficacy. By exploring the psychological dynamics of young perpetrators versus uninvolved adolescents, the aim of the study is to understand how different psychological variables interact, influencing socio-emotional development during adolescence, and to provide an innovative perspective for developing targeted educational interventions that promote socio-emotional skills and prevent aggressive behaviors in schools. The LASSO networks revealed significant differences between perpetrators and uninvolved adolescents. The perpetrators' network was more complex, with aggression as the central node, showing high betweenness (14) and closeness (0.016) indices, mediating interactions between variables and spreading its influence across the network. Despite its central role, aggression's direct influence (expected influence = 0.064) was modest, although its predictability (R2 = 0.543) was high. Other central variables included openness, academic self-efficacy, and social self-efficacy, all with significant mediation and influence indices. Openness, for example, showed a high expected influence (1.119) and was a key mediator in the network. In contrast, the uninvolved group’s network lacked aggression entirely, with openness and self-efficacy remaining central but showing stronger connections with each other. The absence of aggression in the uninvolved group points to more adaptive psychological dynamics, suggesting that non-involved adolescents exhibit more positive, regulated psychological interactions.