Stigma-based bullying in adolescence: When differences become inequality

NOELIA MUÑOZ FERNÁNDEZ

COORDINATOR

MARÍA LUISA RODRÍGUEZ DE ARRIBA

COORDINATOR

Short CV Noelia Muñoz Fernández


Noelia Muñoz-Fernandez is Ramón y Cajal researcher in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Seville and member of the IASED research group (SEJ580). She holds a PhD in Psychology, studies for which she has received the extraordinary doctorate award from the University of Seville, as well as a special mention in the Youth Award for scientific culture of the City of Seville for the theme of the research aimed at preventing violence in adolescent couples. She is currently leading a project focused on the development, implementation and evaluation of a program to improve teachers’ response to general bullying and stigma-based bullying (SR23-00307). She has participated in national projects aimed at the prevention of violence in adolescent couples (PSI2013-45118-R), sexual harassment among peers (SR0163/PID2020-115729RB-I00) and interpersonal violence in adolescence (PSI2017-86723-R). She has also participated in autonomic projects on LGTBQ+ bullying in Andalusia (PRY084/19; P18-RT-2178). During her career she has published 21 paper (15 JCR Q1/Q2), 8 book chapters, some of them in prestigious publishers such as Routlegde, Wiley, Dyckinson and Pirámide. She has made several contributions to national and international conferences of recognized Prestige. In terms of knowledge transfer, she has been responsible for the design and preparation of the IV biennial report on trans 2021-2022 in Andalusia (4800/2010). She has also participated in various contracts 68/83 with institutions and companies, including the company Pearson Education (validating instruments for psychoeducational assessment), the City Council of Seville (evaluating the results of a program for the prevention of gender violence and designing a plan against truancy). She has also transferred her skills as a researcher to the business field, in 2013 she founded her own company (Metodik S.C), which received the award for best business idea of the US, for training andpsychoeducational and methodological advice.

Short CV María Luisa Rodríguez de Arriba


María Luisa Rodríguez de Arriba, PhD in Psychology, teaches in the Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Seville and is a member of the Interpersonal Aggression and Social-Emotional Development research team (www.iased.es).  Her research interest has focused on understanding certain aggressive phenomena in the adolescent stage such as sexual harassment and dating violence in online and face-to-face contexts. Her research analyzes both the factors related to adolescent violence and the development and evaluation of preventive programs. She has participated in local, regional, national and international competitive research projects and contracts, which has resulted in scientific publications in high impact journals and numerous disseminations works. His work has been recognized by the Fundación Pública Andaluza Centro de Estudios Andaluces (CENTRA) with the second prize in the XVIII edition of the Doctoral Thesis Awards. Some of her research include systematic reviews, the evaluation of the Virtual-PRO program for the prevention of sexual harassment with a virtual reality component or the validation of a comprehensive scale on online teen dating violence. Due to her knowledge in the area, she has also participated in training activities in several programs of the Junta de Andalucía for the Prevention of Bullying and Cyberbullying (ConRed-Andalucía), the ADA Program (Alumnado Ayudante Digital Andaluz) and the Fénix Andalucía Social Mentoring Program, as a reviewer in national and international journals, and has been part of the Scientific and Organizing Committee of a world congress.

Symposium abstract


Stigma-based bullying is a type of bullying directed towards people who belong to socially devalued or stigmatized groups, due to their characteristics, attributes or identity. Within this phenomenon are encompassed different forms such as ethnic-cultural, LGBTQ+, disability-based and physical appearance-based bullying. These forms have a common root, their structural nature, motivated by social prejudice, and perpetuate social inequality. In terms of prevalence, people belonging to socially stigmatized groups are more at risk of peer aggression and the consequences are greater than general bullying. Despite this, available knowledge is limited, and the prevention of stigma-based bullying is currently a social challenge.

The contributions presented in this symposium show a novel and comprehensive analysis of stigma-based bullying. Results from national (Spain) and international (Italy) studies are provided. Given the complexity and heterogeneity involved in the study of stigma-based bullying, this symposium addresses both bystander perception and youth involvement in different manifestations of the phenomenon such as ethnic-cultural, LGBTQ+ and online bullying. Other works are advanced by identifying types of victims and the similarities and differences between those victims of general bullying and victims of stigma-based bullying. The presented studies approach this type of aggressive phenomenon from different methodological approaches (such as eye-tracking technology, experimental conditions, and quantitative studies) with the common commitment to analyze the role of individual, interpersonal and contextual variables related to the involvement and perception of stigma-based bullying from a social view of the phenomenon. The results presented provide useful information in the creation of preventive programs.