Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying

Mameli, Consuelo; Menabò, Laura; Brighi, Antonella; Menin, Damiano; Culbert, Catherine; Hamilton, Jayne; Scheithauer, Herbert; Smith, Peter K.; Völlink, Trijntje; Willems, Roy A.; Purdy, Noel; Guarini, Annalisa

doi:10.3390/ijerph19148776

Open AccessArticle

Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying

by

Consuelo Mameli

^1,*

,

Laura Menabò

²

,

Antonella Brighi

³

,

Damiano Menin

⁴

,

Catherine Culbert

⁵,

Jayne Hamilton

⁶,

Herbert Scheithauer

⁷

,

Peter K. Smith

⁵

,

Trijntje Völlink

⁸,

Roy A. Willems

⁸

,

Noel Purdy

⁹ and

Annalisa Guarini

^2,*

¹

Department of Education Studies “Giovanni Maria Bertin”, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

²

Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy

³

Faculty of Education, Free University of Bolzano, 39042 Bolzano, Italy

⁴

Department of Humanities, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy

⁵

Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London SE14 6NW, UK

⁶

School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University, Belfast BT7 1PS, UK

⁷

Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany

⁸

Department of Psychology, Open University of the Netherlands, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands

⁹

Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement, Stranmillis University College, Belfast BT9 5DY, UK

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(14), 8776; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148776

Submission received: 26 May 2022 / Revised: 14 July 2022 / Accepted: 16 July 2022 / Published: 19 July 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bullying and Cyberbullying: Definition, Prevalence Rates, Risk/Protective Factors, and Interventions)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

The present study aimed at giving voice to students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds using a co-participatory approach. Participants were 59 adolescents (52.5% males) aged between 14 and 16 from five European countries who created ten comics to illustrate cyberbullying for a broader audience of peers. We analyzed texts and images according to four primary themes: cyberbullying episodes (types, platforms, co-occurrence with bullying), coping strategies, characters (roles, gender, and group membership), and emotions. The content analysis showed that online denigration on social media platforms was widely represented and that cyberbullying co-existed with bullying. Social strategies were frequently combined with passive and confrontational coping, up to suicide. All roles (cyberbully, cybervictim, bystander, reinforcer, defender) were portrayed among the 154 characters identified, even if victims and defenders appeared in the vignettes more often. Males, females, peers, and adults were represented in all roles. Among the 87 emotions detected, sadness was the most frequently expressed, followed by joy, surprise, anger, and fear. Emotions, mainly represented by drawings or drawings with text, were most often represented in association with cybervictims. The results are discussed in terms of their methodological and practical implications, as they emphasize the importance of valorizing young peoples’ voices in research and interventions against cyberbullying.

Keywords: cyberbullying; adolescents; co-participatory approach; arts-based method; comics

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Mameli, C.; Menabò, L.; Brighi, A.; Menin, D.; Culbert, C.; Hamilton, J.; Scheithauer, H.; Smith, P.K.; Völlink, T.; Willems, R.A.; et al. Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 8776. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148776

AMA Style

Mameli C, Menabò L, Brighi A, Menin D, Culbert C, Hamilton J, Scheithauer H, Smith PK, Völlink T, Willems RA, et al. Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(14):8776. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148776

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mameli, Consuelo, Laura Menabò, Antonella Brighi, Damiano Menin, Catherine Culbert, Jayne Hamilton, Herbert Scheithauer, Peter K. Smith, Trijntje Völlink, Roy A. Willems, and et al. 2022. "Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 14: 8776. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148776

APA Style

Mameli, C., Menabò, L., Brighi, A., Menin, D., Culbert, C., Hamilton, J., Scheithauer, H., Smith, P. K., Völlink, T., Willems, R. A., Purdy, N., & Guarini, A. (2022). Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8776. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148776

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Stay Safe and Strong: Characteristics, Roles and Emotions of Student-Produced Comics Related to Cyberbullying

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI