Boys’ and girls’ cyberbullying behaviours in Portugal: Exploring sex differences in adolescence using gender lenses

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the differences in the responses of adolescent boys and girls, as victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying, in a Portuguese study involving 1683 boys and 1837 girls from the 6th, 8th and 11th years in 23 schools. More girls were cybervictims and more males were cyberaggressors. In both sexes, having already been a perpetrator was positively associated with having already been a victim. The breakdown of friendships and social rejection were the reasons most frequently cited by girls for experiencing and engaging in cyberbullying and they were more able than boys to disclose the motives and emotions involved in cyberacts. The implications are discussed, taking gender socialization and the characteristics of this stage of development into consideration.