Cyberbullying among Italian adolescents.

The aim of the present chapter was to describe the degree of accessibility of new technologies and the incidence of cyberbullying (carried out through cell phones or via Internet) in Italian secondary schools by analysing the roles of bully, victim and bystander. In addition, we have also analysed the modalities of aggression, the incidence of being a cyberbully in a school context and victims’ actions to contrast cyberbullying, taking into account the distinction between cyberbullying via mobile and via Internet. This study provides quantitative data on the diffusion of cyberbullying in Italy and the comparison between cyberbullying carried out via cell phones or via Internet allows us to understand what new technology Italian adolescents prefer for carrying out their acts of aggression and how these forms of cyberbullying differ between them, thus providing interesting reflections on future interventions and prevention policies. The influence of gender and age variables on the different forms of bullying were also investigated, to bette r understand the diffusion of the phenomena among adolescents. In the study 1964 pupils were recruited from secondary schools in the Emilia Romagna Region, in particular in the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara and Forlì.