Bullying/Cyberbullying in 5th and 6th grade: differences between public and private schools

The study aimed to analyse the prevalence of bullying/cyberbullying and to study the level of bullying/cyberbullying suffered, perpetrated and observed in public and private schools. Using a descriptive cross-sectional design, the test "Cyberbullying: Screening of peer harassment" was administered to a sample of 1,993 pupils from the Basque Country attending 5th and 6th grade of elementary school, 49% in public and 51% in private schools. The results revealed that: (1) There were no statistical differences between public or private schools in the percentage of pure-victims, pure-aggressors, bully-victims and observers either in bullying or in cyberbullying; (2) Nevertheless, when analyzing victims or perpetrators in general (not just pure-victims/pure-aggressors), the percentage of students who had suffered physical, verbal, social and psychological abuse; who had physically and verbally assaulted others; and who had observed physical, verbal and psychological aggression was significantly higher in public schools; (3) In public schools, cybervictims suffered significantly more of four out of fifteen cyberbullying behaviours, and cyberobservers also witnessed one behaviour significantly more; (4) The level of abuse suffered in bullying/cyberbullying was significantly higher in public schools, as well as the level of aggressive behaviours observed in face-to-face aggressions. These results reveal that the type of school can be a relevant factor.