| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94460 | Aggression and Violent Behavior | 2015 | 21 Pages |
•A systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses is conducted.•Main topics and findings of the articles in the field are reviewed and synthesized.•One of every three children is involved in some forms of bullying and one of every five children is involved in cyberbullying.•Relationships between age, sex, and involvement in bullying and cyberbullying are complex. Bullying is an important problem among minorities.•There are personal and contextual risk and protective factors related to bullying. Consequences of being involved are devastating.•Anti-bullying programs can be effective in decreasing this kind of violence, but its effects are usually small. Some components are more effective than others.•Methodologies and evaluation should be improved.
Bullying and cyberbullying are present all over the world and have serious consequences for individuals and societies. The number of research studies on the topic has increased exponentially throughout the history, but many questions related to the phenomena remain unanswered. The current study is a systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the topic. Systematic searches were conducted in 7 databases and Aggressive and Violent Behavior journal. A total number of 66 studies met the inclusion criteria. The main findings are that one of every three children is involved in some forms of bullying and one of every five in some forms of cyberbullying. Boys are more involved than girls but with small or trivial effect sizes, and relationship with age is also weak. There is strong overlap between bullying and cyberbullying and bullying is an important problem among minorities. Results show risk and protective factors for bullying and cyberbullying, together with short- and long-term devastating consequences. Anti-bullying interventions are usually effective in reducing bullying, although the effect sizes are small and depend on the components of the programs. Bullying and cyberbullying evaluation strategies need to be improved. Findings are discussed introducing also the Special Issue on Bullying, Cyberbullying and Youth Violence: Facts, Prevention and Intervention.
