The relation between social anxiety, social withdrawal and (cyber)bullying roles: A multilevel analysis

Abstract

This study investigated how social anxiety and social withdrawal are related to middle school students’ involvement in bullying, and whether class-levels variables influence this association. There were 668 participants (Mage = 12.73, SD = 1.08), who were part of a screening for inclusion in a social and emotional learning program. Results showed there was overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying in bullies (52.4%), but not victims (32.7%). Girls reported significantly more social anxiety than boys, while no gender differences were found for social withdrawal. Bullying and cyberbullying victims, as well as bully-victims (but not cyberbully-victims), displayed higher levels of social anxiety than students who were not involved in bullying/cyberbullying. All students involved in bullying (victims, bullies and bully-victims) had higher levels of social withdrawal; however, bully-victims were those who showed the highest levels. Gender distribution did not moderate the relation between social anxiety, social withdrawal, on the one hand, and any bullying or cyberbullying roles, on the other hand. Class size moderated the relation between being a bully/victim and social withdrawal. These results showed that (cyber)bullying roles strongly impact social anxiety, social withdrawal and demonstrated the importance of including class size when analyzing the relation between bullying roles and social anxiety and social withdrawal.