Bullying, cyberbullying, emotional intelligence and socioemotional competences as predictors of social self-concept in adolescents

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The social self-concept is a relevant factor for the psychosocial development of the individual that is built from individual characteristics and interpersonal relationships. In adolescence, interpersonal relationships become highly relevant. However, there are phenomena such as bullying or cyberbullying that can deteriorate the self-concept of adolescents. In this sense, it is necessary to deepen the study of self-concept on the social dimension in order to delve into the factors that can have a positive or negative impact. Likewise, the objective of this study was to determine the level of self-concept, which personal characteristics may be influencing the social self-concept, as well as whether bullying, cyberbullying, emotional intelligence and socioemotional competencies may have a positive or negative impact on this dimension of self-concept. METHOD. For this purpose, a quantitative ex post facto study was carried out with the participation of 2,139 adolescents (51.5% girls), with a mean age of 13.79 (SD = 1.40). The RESULTS show that a strong social self-concept improves emotional management, understanding of others' emotions and prosocial behaviors. However, it is also positively related to bullying aggression. In contrast, social self-concept is negatively related to bullying victimization and low levels of responsible decision-making. DISCUSSION. The results encourage to pay attention to the development of social self-concept in vulnerable people, since a good self-concept allows an adequate social development of the individual. This research has implications for the advancement of the study of social self-concept, expanding the knowledge of the factors that may be related to its development and the importance of improving school coexistence and its implications in school practice.