Ciberacoso y uso problemático de Internet en Colombia, Uruguay y España: Un estudio transcultural

espanolEl objetivo de este estudio transcultural ha sido analizar y comparar las puntuaciones de cibervictimizacion y ciberagresion, y el uso problematico de Internet en adolescentes de Espana, Colombia y Uruguay, ya que pese a las semejanzas culturales existentes entre el contexto latinoamericano y espanol son escasos los estudios empiricos que los han comparado previamente. La muestra estuvo formada por 2.653 participantes de 10 a 18 anos. Se recogieron datos a traves del cuestionario de ciberacoso y de la version en castellano del «Revised generalized and problematic Internet use scale». Los resultados ponen de manifiesto una mayor prevalencia de conductas de ciberacoso leve en Espana entre los 10-14 anos. En los tres paises, destacan dos roles de ciberobservador: defensor de la victima y no comprometido ante la agresion, aunque con mas perfiles de apoyo al agresor en Colombia. No se observan diferencias en un uso problematico de Internet entre los tres paises. Se proporcionan evidencias sobre la relacion de la cibervictimizacion y ciberagresion con el uso problematico de Internet. Las dimensiones de uso compulsivo y regulacion del estado animico son las que mejor predicen el ciberacoso. Los resultados son discutidos con relacion a la posible normalizacion de la violencia y su falta de reconocimiento como tal. EnglishThe goal of this cross-cultural study was to analyze and compare the cybervictimization and cyberaggression scores, and the problematic Internet use between Spain, Colombia and Uruguay. Despite cultural similarities between the Spanish and the South American contexts, there are few empirical studies that have comparatively examined this issue. The study sample consisted of 2,653 subjects aged 10-18 years. Data was collected through the cyberbullying questionnaire and the Spanish version of the “Revised generalized and problematic Internet use scale”. Results showed a higher prevalence of minor cyberbullying behavior in Spain between 10-14 years. In the three countries compared, there was a higher prevalence of two types of bystanders: the defender of the victim and the outsider, although in Colombia there were more profiles of assistant to the bully. Regarding the problematic use of the Internet, there were not differences between the three countries. We provide evidence on the relationship between cybervictimization and cyberaggression and problematic use of the Internet. The dimensions of compulsive use and regulation of mood are the best predictors of cyberbullying. We discuss our results in relation to the possible normalization of violence and its lack of recognition as such.