Cybervictimization in Chilean Schools: An Intersectional Multilevel Study

Abstract

Even though research has established the prevalence and predicting factors of cybervictimization in the school context, studies have not considered their nested nature, which might lead to differences within and between schools. Research has only just begun to recognize the intersectionality of various cultural labels and marginalized identities, but most studies have been qualitative. Using a quantitative approach that considers the nested nature of the data and inspired by an intersectional theoretical framework, we performed a multilevel analysis of cybervictimization in a sample of 34,959 students enrolled in fifth to eighth grade in 410 Chilean schools with low socioeconomic status. Findings showed that 14.3% of students reported some type of cybervictimization during the last month. Level 1 (individual) findings showed that being male, over age, of an ethnic origin, and reporting a negative perception of school climate significantly contributed to self-reported cybervictimization. Discrimination due to sexual orientation was the most critical variable at both the individual (b = 1.39, p < 0.001) and school (b = 1.26, p < 0.001) levels. Likewise, this factor interacted significantly with all variables at the individual level. We discuss the implications of this study, among them that school-related cybervictimization seems to be strongly associated with homophobia and homophobic school environments in which gender-non-conforming students feel discriminated. This calls for the incorporation of an intersectional and inclusive approach to policies and practices for preventing and diminishing cyberbullying and its different expressions, promoting heterogeneity as a virtue in schools.