Bullying and cyberbullying are potent forms of aggression repeatedly perpetrated by aggressors against the victims. In both cases, there is a set dominion–submission model between the aggressors and the victims. They can both be anchored to stereotypical ideas or violated rules, or simply any feature of a person or a group can be the pretext to bullying or being the bully. The psychological and sociological impacts of bullying and cyberbullying activities on the victims include several disorders such as depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, substance abuse, and poor engagement in prosocial behaviors. Other factors also correlated with being a victim involve low self-esteem, high depression, extreme loneliness, and dysfunctional attachment styles.
Usually, the aggressors resort to aggressive forms of humor, such as mockery and sarcasm, as potent tools to display violence and superiority against their victims. In fact, being laughed at is one of the recurrent aggressive acts reported by victims; consequently, victims are led to display a self-defeating humor style—a sort of self-directed violence—and gelotophobia, i.e., the fear of being laughed at. In general terms, bullying and cyberbullying are similar in that they are essentially forms of violence that bring about exclusion and take advantage of malevolent or tendentious humor.
This research topic aims at deepening our knowledge about bullying and cyberbullying in terms of their nature, aims, and tools—for example, violence and aggression, exclusion and superiority, mockery and tendentious humor. How these and other constructs converge with and diverge from bullying and cyberbullying are the key points of this research topic. Furthermore, this research topic will involve current perspectives on bullying and cyberbullying in children, adolescents, young adults and/or adults, their causes and consequences in a variety of life domains, new ways for their assessment in future studies, and training programs fighting such a negative dynamic. Contributions from adjacent disciplines (e.g., education, sociology, communication, or therapy/counseling) will also be examined for a multidisciplinary perspective.
Original Research, Review, Systematic Review, Hypothesis and Theory, Empirical Study, Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy articles are welcome.
Contributions may include, but are not limited to studies concerning:
- Humor as an exclusion strategy: laughing at others vs. laughing with other
- Dispositions toward ridicule
- Aggressive interactions and relations among peers or family
- Assessments of various aspects of mockery, aggression, bullying or cyberbullying
- Emotional activations and violence, violence and socio-cultural contexts
- Training programs against violence and aggressive relationships
- Moral and ethical components of bullying and cyberbullying
- Language analysis of bullying and cyberbullying acts
- Development and validation of related theories for explaining cultural and cross-cultural differences in bullying, cyberbullying, violence, aggression or mockery
- Influential paths to mental health issues and well-being as well as aggression and identifying potential moderators and mediators
- Antecedences and consequences of violent relationships
- Protective factors against bullying and cyberbullying
Bullying and cyberbullying are potent forms of aggression repeatedly perpetrated by aggressors against the victims. In both cases, there is a set dominion–submission model between the aggressors and the victims. They can both be anchored to stereotypical ideas or violated rules, or simply any feature of a person or a group can be the pretext to bullying or being the bully. The psychological and sociological impacts of bullying and cyberbullying activities on the victims include several disorders such as depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, substance abuse, and poor engagement in prosocial behaviors. Other factors also correlated with being a victim involve low self-esteem, high depression, extreme loneliness, and dysfunctional attachment styles.
Usually, the aggressors resort to aggressive forms of humor, such as mockery and sarcasm, as potent tools to display violence and superiority against their victims. In fact, being laughed at is one of the recurrent aggressive acts reported by victims; consequently, victims are led to display a self-defeating humor style—a sort of self-directed violence—and gelotophobia, i.e., the fear of being laughed at. In general terms, bullying and cyberbullying are similar in that they are essentially forms of violence that bring about exclusion and take advantage of malevolent or tendentious humor.
This research topic aims at deepening our knowledge about bullying and cyberbullying in terms of their nature, aims, and tools—for example, violence and aggression, exclusion and superiority, mockery and tendentious humor. How these and other constructs converge with and diverge from bullying and cyberbullying are the key points of this research topic. Furthermore, this research topic will involve current perspectives on bullying and cyberbullying in children, adolescents, young adults and/or adults, their causes and consequences in a variety of life domains, new ways for their assessment in future studies, and training programs fighting such a negative dynamic. Contributions from adjacent disciplines (e.g., education, sociology, communication, or therapy/counseling) will also be examined for a multidisciplinary perspective.
Original Research, Review, Systematic Review, Hypothesis and Theory, Empirical Study, Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy articles are welcome.
Contributions may include, but are not limited to studies concerning:
- Humor as an exclusion strategy: laughing at others vs. laughing with other
- Dispositions toward ridicule
- Aggressive interactions and relations among peers or family
- Assessments of various aspects of mockery, aggression, bullying or cyberbullying
- Emotional activations and violence, violence and socio-cultural contexts
- Training programs against violence and aggressive relationships
- Moral and ethical components of bullying and cyberbullying
- Language analysis of bullying and cyberbullying acts
- Development and validation of related theories for explaining cultural and cross-cultural differences in bullying, cyberbullying, violence, aggression or mockery
- Influential paths to mental health issues and well-being as well as aggression and identifying potential moderators and mediators
- Antecedences and consequences of violent relationships
- Protective factors against bullying and cyberbullying
