School bullying: Empathy among perpetrators and victims

sus ainabili y A icle School Bullying: Empa hy among Pe pe a o s and Vic ims Ca los Sala e a 1,2 , Pablo Usán1,2,* , Pila Te uel 1,2, E a U bón1,2 and Vic o Mu illo 3   Ci a ion: Sala e a, C.; Usán, P.; Te uel, P.; U bón, E.; Mu illo, V. School Bullying: Empa hy among Pe pe a o s and Vic ims. Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/su13031548 Recei ed: 8 Decembe 2020 Accep ed: 25 Janua y 2021 Published: 2 Feb ua y 2021 Publishe ’s No e: MDPI s ays neu al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional claims in published maps and ins i u ional a il- ia ions. Copy igh : © 2021 by he au ho s. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Swi ze land. This a icle is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms and condi ions o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion (CC BY) license (h ps:// c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1Resea ch G oup OPIICS, Uni e si y o Za agoza, 50009 Za agoza, Spain; sala e a@uniza .es (C.S.); p e uel@uniza .es (P.T.); eu bon@uniza .es (E.U.) 2Facul y o Educa ion, Uni e si y o Za agoza, 50009 Za agoza, Spain 3Facul y o Heal h and Spo s Sciences, Uni e si y o Za agoza, 22002 Huesca, Spain; mu illo@uniza .es *Co espondence: pusan@uniza .es Abs ac : This s udy analyses he ela ionship be ween empa hy and school bullying, aking bo h pe pe a o s and ic ims in o conside a ion. The s udy sample comp ised 840 s uden s, 423 o which we e emale (50.36%), aged an a e age o 14.28 yea s. The ins umen s used we e an ad hoc ques ionnai e o socioeconomic a iables and bullying beha iou , an empa hy ques ionnai e, and a pe sonali y ques ionnai e. Vic ims yielded highe sco es in e ms o empa hic conce n, while bo h g oups, agg esso s and ic ims, yielded simila esul s in e ms o cogni i e and a ec i e empa hy. Conce ning he co ela ion be ween hese a iables and pe sonali y, anxie y was ound o be co ela ed wi h a ec i e empa hy and empa he ic conce n in bo h g oups. A co ela ion be ween cogni i e empa hy and impulsi eness and ac i i y was also ound in bo h g oups. Rema kably, agg ession and cogni i e empa hy we e ound o be co ela ed, bu only among ic ims. Finally, expe iences wi h classma es, anxie y, since i y, and agg ession we e ound o ac as p edic o s o school bullying, while gende and agg ession ac o s we e ound o ac as p edic o s among pe pe a o s, bu o a lesse ex en , which sugges s ha o he ac o s mus be in place o bullying beha iou o occu . The esul s sugges ha , al hough empa hy le els a e di e en in bo h g oups, hey canno ac as a p edic o o bullying, especially conce ning pe pe a o s. Keywo ds: empa hy; assessmen ; pe pe a o s; ic ims; school bullying 1. A ec i e Empa hy, Cogni i e Empa hy, and Empa hic Conce n Empa hy is he abili y o unde s and o he people’s minds, o eel emo ions o he han ou own, and o espond o hem wi h conce n and ca e o o he people’s su e ing. I has commonly been de ined as he abili y o unde s and ano he pe son’s eelings [ 1 , 2 ]. Empa hy comp ises wo di e en bu in e ela ed ac o s: a ec i e empa hy ( he abili y o unde s and o he people’s emo ions) and cogni i e empa hy (a good unde s anding o o he people’s emo ional s a es) [ 1 ]. Du ing in ancy, low empa hy is ela ed o poo ela ionships wi h pee s, hos ili y, and in imida ion [ 3 , 4 ]. Du ing adolescence, low empa hy leads o agg ession and an i-social beha iou [ 5 , 6 ]. In adul hood, low empa hy leads o child abuse, iolence, and psychopa hy. High empa hy is ela ed o social skills, p oblem- sol ing, and p osocial beha iou ; bo h among child en and adul s, empa he ic people a e mo e likely o sha e esou ces, help hose in need, and ca e o o he s [7]. Empa hy plays a cen al ole in he de elopmen o social beha iou . Ini ially, empa hy was concep ualised om an a ec i e pe spec i e, and was ega ded as a ica ious emo- ional esponse o o he s’ emo ions. A e wa ds, i became clea ha his one-dimensional pe spec i e o empa hy e oneously neglec ed he ole played by cogni ion. Cu en ly, empa hy is conside ed a mul i-dimensional concep , wi h bo h a ec i e and cogni i e dimensions [8]. Based on he de ini ion abo e, we mus dis inguish be ween h ee di e en kinds o empa hy: (1) Cogni i e empa hy, which is adop ing he poin o iew o o he s and unde s anding hei si ua ion, emo ions, and eelings. I in ol es pu ing onesel men ally Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548. h ps://doi.o g/10.3390/su13031548 h ps://www.mdpi.com/jou nal/sus ainabili y Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 2 o 9 in he place o o he people wi hou judging hem om ou own poin o iew. Fo ins ance, a s uden unde s ands ha one o hei pee s d esses di e en ly o has a di e en hai s yle; (2) Emo ional empa hy, which is eeling wha o he people eel, and he e o e unde s anding hei emo ions. Fo ins ance, a s uden ells hei classma es abou eeling lonely in class, and he es end up c ying in esponse o hei classma e’s su e ing; and (3) Empa hic conce n, which is spon aneously o e ing help o hose who a e pe cei ed o be in need. Fo ins ance, a s uden spon aneously o e s o help an isola ed classma e [9]. Resea ch has shown ha indi iduals wi h high le els o empa hy a e mo e p one o p osocial beha iou and al uism [ 10 – 12 ], whe eas indi iduals wi h low empa hy le els a e mo e agg essi e [13–15]. 2. School Bullying School bullying, also known as pee iolence, is a o m o ecu en and delibe a e agg ession by one o mo e pe pe a o s agains a de enceless ic im [16,17]. In a ecen WHO-led s udy wi h 219,460 s uden s om 42 coun ies, 11% o pa ic- ipan s epo ed ha ing been ic ims o school bullying a leas ou o six imes du ing he wo mon hs p io o he su ey, and 8.5% ha ing aken pa as pe pe a o s [ 18 , 19 ]. Bullying poses a high isk o he psychosocial de elopmen and academic pe o mance o bo h pe pe a o s and ic ims [ 20 – 22 ], e en among e y young child en [ 23 ]. Some s udies include wi nesses o bullying among hose who a e nega i ely a ec ed by his beha iou [24,25]. The basic cha ac e is ics o school bullying a e as ollows [ 26 ]: (1) a ic im is ha assed by one o se e al agg esso s, who ha e ha m ul in en ions; (2) he e is a powe unbalance, physical o psychological, be ween ic im and agg esso ; (3) agg ession is ecu en ; and (4) he a ge is gene ally a single s uden . The e a e ou basic o ms o school bullying: (1) physical: di ec o indi ec agg essi e beha iou ; (2) e bal: nega i e e bal beha iou ; (3) social: isola ing p ac ices; and (4) psychological: insul s, humilia ions, unde mining o sel -es eem, and eelings o de encelessness. School bullying poses a isk o he pe sonal, social, and academic de elopmen o bo h ic ims and agg esso s. Bullying, a om dec easing, is on he inc ease, and is one o he main ac o s in school ailu e and d opou . Un o una ely, Spain is among he highes -sco ing coun ies in hese wo a iables. 3. Empa hy and School Bullying T adi ional s e eo ypes de ine school bullies as anxious, insecu e, academically medioc e s uden s who a e p one o eso o iolence o sol e con lic s, and canno adequa ely p o- cess social in o ma ion and sol e social p oblems [27]. They ha e also been de ined as socially compe en , highly empa he ic indi iduals who a e capable o unde s anding he s a e o mind o hei pee s [ 28 ]. Howe e , hey s uggle o assess he emo ional consequences ha hei beha iou has on o he s, as well as o unde s and o he people’s emo ions, and o sha e and empa hise wi h o he s [ 29 , 30 ]. The di e en ac o s in ol ed in school bullying lead o a ious emo ional and be- ha iou al p oblems. Bullies show highe obacco and alcohol consump ion a es, and a e mo e p one o indulge in high- isk beha iou s [ 31 ], as well as o anxie y and beha iou al p oblems [32]. Vic ims a e mo e p one o anxie y and dep ession [33]. Despi e he low le els o empa hy de ec ed among agg esso s, he capaci y o empa- he ic esponse among hese child en has been paid li le a en ion o da e. Some s udies ha e ound a weak co ela ion be ween empa hy and bullying, while o he s udies ha e a gued ha p osocial child en we e mo e empa hic han agg esso s, wi h no signi ican di e ences being ound be ween ic ims and a e age s uden s in e ms o empa hy [34]. Many s udies ha e analysed school bullying and empa hy in di e en educa ional ie s, bu he causal ole ha empa hy plays in school bullying has been paid less a en ion. A p io i, empa hy plays a key ole in socialisa ion and in e pe sonal ela ionships [ 35 ]. Empa hy con ibu es o p osocial beha iou [ 36 , 37 ], while low empa hy is ela ed o con- Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 3 o 9 lic i e beha iou such as agg ession [ 38 , 39 ]. Howe e , a ecen me a-analysis [ 40 ] eached he su p ising conclusion ha empa hy and agg ession we e only weakly co ela ed. Associa ions be ween empa hy and bullying ha e been epo ed. Howe e , comp e- hensi e analysis o he ela ionships be ween empa hy and he agg esso s and ic ims o such bullying is s ill lacking. The main aim o his s udy was o assess empa hy among pe pe a o s and ic ims. An exis ing gap in ou knowledge which we aimed o co e conce ns possible di e ences in empa hy among agg esso s and ic ims. In line wi h he heo e ical backg ound ou lined abo e, he main hypo hesis is ha ic ims will show highe empa hy le els han agg esso s in all h ee dimensions: a ec i e empa hy, cogni i e empa hy, and empa he ic conce n. Ou second aim was o ind p edic o s o school bullying, om he poin o iew o bo h agg esso s and ic ims. 4. Me hod Pa icipan s The s udy sample comp ised 840 subjec s, 417 male (49.64%) and 423 emale (50.36%), om six public seconda y schools. The cen es we e selec ed by con enience sampling. The a e age age o pa icipan s was 14.28 yea s, anging om 12 o 16, wi h a s anda d de ia ion o 1.426. One inclusion c i e ion was he abili y o ead and communica e in pe ec Spanish in o de o ensu e ha he ques ionnai e was pe ec ly unde s ood and comple ed. Exclusion c i e ia included incomple e ques ionnai es. In addi ion, s uden s wi h cogni i e diso de s we e excluded om he s udy. Pa icipa ion was olun a y. All esponden s we e olun ee s, and pa en s and child en signed an in o med consen o m. Ques ionnai es we e dis ibu ed in class in he p esence o he p incipal in es iga o . The ques ionnai es we e collec ed indi idually as he s uden s inished hem, and e iewed o check o e o s and o ensu e ha no ques ions we e le unanswe ed. The e hical guidelines o he Decla a ion o Helsinki and all e hical c i e ia o esea ch wi h humans we e me . The con idence le el was 95% and he sampling e o 5%. I was hus concluded ha he su ey was ep esen a i e o he p o ince o Za agoza (Spain). The su ey was designed as a la e al s udy based on na u al g oups, because he g oups we e cons i u ed by s able independen a iables, wi hou majo cul u al di e ences. Indi idual di e ences we e compa ed, and dependen and independen a iables eco ded [41]. 5. P o ocol The schools we e con ac ed by phone and hose ha ag eed o ake pa in he s udy we e en e ed in o a lis . While handing ou ques ionnai es, he aim o he su ey was explained o pa icipan s and he impo ance ha all ques ions be answe ed was s essed. Pa icipan s had 45 min o ill ou he ques ionnai e and he in o med consen o m. The esea ch p o ocol was endo sed by he OPIICS esea ch g oup (S46_20R), Psychology and Sociology Depa men , Uni e sidad de Za agoza. They we e eminded ha all in o ma ion collec ed was o be ea ed anonymously and con iden ially. Pa en s and/o gua dians also signed an in o med consen o m. The da a was collec ed in Oc obe and No embe 2019. 6. Ins umen s Bullying ques ionnai e [42]. The ins umen used o compile in o ma ion was an ad hoc ques ionnai e, which enabled us o pu all pa icipan s a he same psychological le el and abula e answe s o compa ison [43]. The ques ionnai e was designed o ake in o conside a ion ou gene al c i e ia and objec i es. The main idea was o include ques ions ela ed o agg ession om he poin o iew o pe pe a o s, ic ims, and wi nesses, while allowing us o de ec ce ain ac o s ha , acco ding o he exis ing li e a u e, can help o explain ce ain beha iou s. This called o he inclusion o ac o s ha ha e no been aken in o conside a ion in p e ious ques ionnai es. Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 4 o 9 The inal ques ionnai e was di ided in o wo sec ions: he i s sec ion compiled gene al in o ma ion (age, gende , na ionali y, e c.) and he second sec ion eco ded bullying- ela ed in o ma ion. Adolescen Measu e o Empa hy and Sympa hy (AMES) [9], ansla ed in o Spanish [44]. This is a 12-i em scale di ided in o h ee dimensions (cogni i e empa hy, a ec i e empa hy, and empa he ic conce n), wi h ou i ems each. Pa icipan s mus ead a s a e- men and exp ess hei deg ee o ag eemen wi h each elemen on a 5-poin Like scale: (1) s ongly disag ee, (2) disag ee, (3) neu al, (4) ag ee, and (5) s ongly ag ee. C onbach α co- e icien s (cogni i e empa hy = 0.786; a ec i e empa hy = 0.744; empa hic conce n = 0.750; o al = 0.872) we e mode a ely high, which indica es good in e nal consis ency in he ques ionnai e. BFQ-NA pe sonali y ques ionnai e [45], ansla ed in o Spanish [46]. This ques ionnai e, also known as he Big Fi e Ques ionnai e o Child en, is an adap- a ion o he classic Big Fi e Ques ionnai e o adul s. The ques ionnai e’s i e dimensions a e: conscience (au onomy, o de , p ecision, ule-abiding, and commi men ) α= 0.81; open- ness (in ellec ual aspec s, c ea i i y, and cul u al in e es s) α = 0.76; ex a e sion (ac i i y, en husiasm, asse i eness, and sel -con idence) α = 0.73; kindness (conce n and sensi i i y owa ds o he s and hei needs) α = 0.85; and emo ional ins abili y (anxie y, dep ession, discon en edness, and ange ) α = 0.81. The subjec mus espond o 65 i ems on a 5-poin Like scale (1–5). The ques ionnai e yielded a good eliabili y sco e (α= 0.84). 7. Da a Analysis Desc ip i e s a is ics we e used o ou line he socio-demog aphic p o ile o he da a and he a ious a iables unde s udy. Co ela ions among empa hy, pe sonali y, and bul- lying a iables we e calcula ed p io o being p ocessed and analysed wi h SPSS S a is ical Package e .26.0 so wa e (IBM, A monk, NY, USA). A e pe o ming no mal dis ibu ion and equali y o a iances es s, we decided o use pa ame ic echniques. Each a iable was subjec o desc ip i e analysis. In all cases, we used he lowes signi icance le el possi- ble. Bila e al es s we e pe o med. Fo wo-g oup hypo hesis es ing, we used S uden ’s -dis ibu ion. C onbach’s α was calcula ed o es he eliabili y o he es . Finally, pe pe- a o / ic im p edic o equa ions we e es ablished acco ding o he emaining a iables, h ough logis ic eg ession using he s epwise me hod ( o wa d pa h), based on Wald’s s a is ics. Fo wa d s epwise selec ion begins wi h a model con aining no p edic o s, and hen adds p edic o s o he model, one a a ime, un il all o he p edic o s a e in he model. In pa icula , a each s ep, he a iable ha gi es he g ea es addi ional imp o emen o he i is added o he model. 8. Resul s A o al o 23.96% (N = 168; 72 male and 94 emale) o pa icipan s admi ed o ha ing bullied hei pee s, while 39.23% (N = 275; 123 male and 152 emale) iden i ied hemsel es as ic ims o bullying. These da a we e used o c ea e wo s udy g oups: ic ims ( N = 275 ) and agg esso s (N = 168). Vic ims sco ed highe in all h ee empa hic dimensions (cog- ni i e empa hy, a ec i e empa hy, and empa hic conce n) in he empa hy ques ionnai e Table 1Mino di e ences in e ec size (Cohen’s d) we e ound in he ac o measu ing empa hic conce n. Table 1. Desc ip o s in he empa hy ques ionnai e. Fac o s M (ds) Vic ims M (ds) Agg esso s Cohen’s d A ec i e empa hy 13.92 (2.48) 13.65 (2.59) 0.10 Cogni i e empa hy 11.48 (3.42) 11.13 (3.10) 0.05 Empa hic conce n 16.54 (2.78) 15.84 (2.90) 0.24 Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 5 o 9 In addi ion, co ela ions be ween he empa hy ques ionnai e and he BFQ-NA pe son- ali y ques ionnai e Table 2we e calcula ed. The dimensions o he empa hy ques ionnai e p esen ed signi ican co ela ions wi h he o he ins umen s. Table 2. Co ela ions wi h pe sonali y ac o s (BFQ-NA). Vic ims Agg esso s Cogni i e empa hy A ec i e empa hy Empa hic conce n Cogni i e empa hy A ec i e empa hy Empa hic conce n Anxie y −0.085 − 0.287 ** −0.322 ** −0.084 −0.237 ** − 0.244 ** Impulsi eness −0.137 * −0.098 −0.082 −0.185 ** −0.045 −0.055 Ac i i y −0.183 ** −0.088 −0.012 −0.192 ** −0.087 −0.002 Since i y −0.084 −0.108 0.022 −0.119 −0.064 0.005 Agg ession −0.145 * −0.106 −0.065 −0.089 −0.060 0.040 No e: * p> 0.01, ** p> 0.001. Finally, p edic o s o bo h ic ims and agg esso s we e calcula ed Table 3. This was ca ied ou h ough a linea eg ession using he ollowing ac o s: gende , empa hy, pe sonali y and expe ience wi h classma es, eache s, and school. Table 3. P edic o ac o s o ic ims and agg esso s. Vic ims Agg esso s B (ET) p-Value B (ET) p-Value Gende 21.63 (3.21) 1.796 0.073 21.53 (2.64) 4.813 <0.001 School expe ience 0.68 (0.38) −1.726 0.085 1.48 (0.31) 0.629 0.529 Classma e expe ience −0.83 (0.48) −6.683 <0.001 0.24 (0.38) −0.564 0.573 Teache s expe ience −2.98 (0.45) −0.61 0.542 −0.21 (0.37) −1.319 0.188 Empa hy −0.27 (0.44) 1.561 0.119 −0.48 (0.36) −0.902 0.368 Anxie y 0.49 (0.05) −2.429 0.015 0.15 (0.04) −0.25 0.803 Impulsi eness −0.17 (0.07) 0.437 0.662 −0.01 (0.06) −0.883 0.378 Ac i i y 0.04 (0.08) −1.515 0.13 −0.06 (0.07) 0.421 0.674 Since i y −0.09 (0.06) 3.715 <0.001 0.02 (0.05) 1.031 0.303 Agg ession 0.28 (0.08) −2.271 0.024 0.06 (0.06) −4.869 < 0.001 R2(%) 45.7 10.9 Model F(11.701) = 44.636; p< 0.001 F(11.701) = 7.394; p< 0.001 No e. B: Be a coe icien equal; E.T.: E o es ima e R2: R squa e; : - alue; p-Value: Signi ica ion. A mul iple eg ession was unde aken, aking gende , empa hy, pe sonali y, and expe ience wi h classma es, eache s, and he school as p edic o ac o s, and becoming a ic im o an agg esso as c i e ion a iables. Table 3illus a es he esul s a e en e ing he explica i e a iables, which we e a signi ican ac o in he p edic ion. Conce ning ic ims, p edic o s ou lined we e expe ience wi h classma es, anxie y, since i y, and agg ession ac o s, which accoun o a signi ican pe cen age o he a i- ance ( R2= 45.7 in model F(11.701) = 44.636 ***). Rega ding agg esso s, gende , and ag- g ession ac o s we e ou lined as p edic o s, bu less empha ically (R 2 = 10.9, in model F(11.701) = 7.394 ***). 9. Discussion The i s aim o his s udy was o assess empa hy in school bullies and ic ims o school bullying. The second aim was o de ine ac o s o p edic bullying om he poin o iew o bo h ic ims and agg esso s. A o al o 24% o pa icipan s admi ed o ha ing bullied hei classma es, while 39% cha ac e ised hemsel es as ic ims o his abuse. Conce ning empa hy in ic ims and Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 6 o 9 agg esso s, he s udy ound no signi ican di e ences in e ms o a ec i e empa hy and cogni i e empa hy. Howe e , small di e ences we e a es ed wi h ega d o empa hic conce n, which, le us emembe , is de ined as a pe son’s abili y o de ec when someone is in need, and o lend aid spon aneously and uncondi ionally. P e ious s udies epo ed ha ic ims o bullying we e mo e p one o show highe le els o empa hic and cogni i e em- pa hy [ 4 , 47 , 48 ], bu less a en ion had hi he o been paid o empa hic conce n. The esul s sugges ha ic ims show highe le els o empa hic conce n, pe haps as an indica ion o he help hey would like o ecei e om hei classma es [49]. Simila ly, he co ela ions wi h pe sonali y- ela ed da a yielded simila esul s o bo h g oups, excep wi h ega d o agg ession. I can be concluded ha anxie y p esen s a weak nega i e co ela ion wi h he ac o s used o measu e a ec i e empa hy and empa hic conce n, sugges ing ha highe anxie y le els lead o less a ec i e empa hy and empa hic conce n, in line wi h ecen s udies [ 9 , 50 ]. On he o he hand, impulsi eness and ac i i y ac o s also p esen a nega i e co ela ion wi h cogni i e empa hy in bo h g oups. Finally, agg ession also p esen s a nega i e co ela ion wi h cogni i e empa hy, bu only among ic ims, which sugges s ha low agg ession le els led o g ea e cogni i e empa hy. This may be explained by he ac ha empa hy plays a key ole in he way people deal wi h hei emo ions, which can also be a ec ed by capaci y, mo i a ion, and con ex [36,51,52]. The analysis o he ac o s de ined as p edic o s o bullying ( om bo h he agg esso ’s and he ic im’s iewpoin s) e ealed ha a nega i e expe ience wi h classma es and pe sonali y, anxie y, since i y, and agg ession ac o s inc ease he likelihood o becoming a ic im by 45.7%. Con e sely, gende (male) and agg ession we e ou lined in 10.9% as p edic o s o s uden s becoming school bullies, as poin ed ou by p e ious s udies [ 53 ]; i can be a gued ha he g ea e empa hy de ec ed among women ac s as a ba ie agains hese beha iou s [ 54 ]. Al hough ou esul s ha e ou lined p edic o ac o s o agg esso s, hey also sugges ha o he ac o s no aken in o conside a ion help o u n s uden s in o bullies. This sugges s an in e es ing esea ch a enue o he u u e. These esul s mus be iewed in he ligh o he s udy’s limi a ions. Al hough he sample is s a is ically ele an , i should be expanded o o he social g oups, among which he co ela ions be ween empa hy and o he cons uc s may be s onge . We should unde ake longi udinal s udies o assess empa hy o e a longe ime pe iod. In addi ion, empa hy equi es o he abili ies, o example in he ealm o cogni ion, and his ela ionship should be explo ed. The e is also oom o imp o emen conce ning he ques ionnai e. Finally, his esea ch p esen s a ious limi a ions: (1) he s udy is la e al, so no causal ela ionships can be in e ed; and (2) da a we e based on sel - epo ing, which may in o- duce a ac o o bias. Fu u e esea ch should explo e hese cons uc s mo e ho oughly wi h la ge samples and also ocus on special needs adolescen popula ions, o example s uden s wi h anxie y and au ism wi h di e en empa hy p o iles. This so o s udy can and should ake in o conside a ion o he cons uc s such as a ec s, sense o humou , emo ional in elligence, and social skills, all o which could be ela ed o empa hy and school bullying. The ela ionship o hese cons uc s and school bullying should be explo ed; p e ious s udies ha e ocused on obse ed empa hy le els and school bullying, and no in he way hey ela e o o he ac o s. 10. Conclusions The esul o ou s udy is a be e unde s anding o empa hy be ween ic ims and pe pe a o s o bullying, wi h di ec implica ions o he school and he school sys em. Ou esul s ha e di ec implica ions o educa ional s a egies. Teache s and o he membe s o he school communi y should wo k on empa hy wi h young people om an ea ly age, in o de o help s uden s and educe bullying in he class oom. This can also help p e en poo academic pe o mance and imp o e pe sonal and academic de elopmen . P og ams led by educa ion and school p o essionals can help s uden s imp o e hei school expe ience, con ibu ing o he comp ehensi e de elopmen o s uden s, p e en ing bullying and d opping ou , and imp o ing hei academic pe o mance. Sus ainabili y 2021,13, 1548 7 o 9 Ou esul s encou age us o con inue looking o new ques ions wi h which o de elop new me hodologies and ind answe s wi h which o con ibu e o he posi i e social- emo ional de elopmen o adolescen s. Au ho Con ibu ions: Concep ualisa ion: C.S., P.U., P.T., E.U. and V.M.; da a cu a ion, C.S., P.U., P.T., E.U. and V.M.; in es iga ion, C.S., P.U., P.T., E.U. and V.M.; me hodology, C.S., P.U., V.M. and P.T.; supe ision, C.S., P.U., V.M. and P.T.; w i ing—o iginal d a , C.S., P.U., P.T., E.U. and V.M.; w i ing— e iew and edi ing, C.S., P.U., P.T., E.U. and V.M. All au ho s ha e ead and ag eed o he published e sion o he manusc ip . Funding: This s udy was pe o med by Resea ch G oup OPIICS (S46_20R), Uni e si y o Za agoza (Za agoza, Spain), and was suppo ed by esea ch unds p o ided by he Depa men o Science and Technology o he Go e nmen o A agón (Spain) and he Eu opean Social Fund. Ins i u ional Re iew Boa d S a emen : The s udy was conduc ed acco ding o he guidelines o he Decla a ion o Helsinki, and app o ed by he E hics Re iew Commi ee o OPIICS esea ch g oup (S46_20R), Psychology and Sociology Depa men , Uni e sidad de Za agoza. In o med Consen S a emen : All esponden s we e olun ee s, and pa en s and child en signed an in o med consen o m. Da a A ailabili y S a emen : The da a p esen ed in his s udy a e a ailable on eques om he co esponding au ho . Con lic s o In e es : The au ho s decla e no con lic o in e es . The unde s had no ole in he design o he s udy; in he collec ion, analysis, o in e p e a ion o da a; in he w i ing o he manusc ip ; o in he decision o publish he esul s. Re e ences 1. Cohen, D.; S aye , J. Empa hy in conduc -diso de ed and compa ison you h. De . Psychol. 1996,32, 988–998. 2. Smi h, P.K. Violence in Schools: The Response in Eu ope; Rou ledge Falme : London, UK, 2003. 3. Belacchi, C.; Fa ina, E. Feeling and hinking o o he s: A ec i e and cogni i e empa hy and emo ion comp ehension in p osocial/hos ile p eschoole s. Agg ess. Beha . 2012,38, 150–165. [C ossRe ] 4. Es é ez, E.; Jiménez, T.I.; Segu a, L. Emo ional in elligence and empa hy in agg esso s and ic ims o school iolence. J. Educ. 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