Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Barbara Barcaccia1, Susanna Pallini2, Roberto Baiocco1, Marco Salvati1 , Angelo Maria Saliani3, and Barry Howard Schneider4
Background: Adolescent victims of bullying often present high levels of maladjustment, such as depression, anxiety, and the inability to manage anger. Both forgiveness and friendship have been found to be moderating agents for the debilitating psychological effects seen in the victims of bullying. Our aim was to explore the roles of forgiveness and friendship in the psychological adjustment of victimised youths. Method: The sample was composed of 2,105 adolescents (age range 13-20) recruited from central and southern Italy. We collected information on bullying, forgiveness, friendship, depression, anxiety and anger. Results: We found that more victimisation and not having a best friend had an additive effect on maladjustment. Moreover, adolescents who scored lower in forgiveness were more likely to be depressed and angry. Discussion: Our data provide confirmation that forgiveness is a protective factor for Italian adolescents, as is friendship, although they do not operate as interactive protective factors. Given that forgiveness is so significantly associated with wellbeing and the fact that it can be taught and enhanced in both clinical and school settings, it would be worthwhile to include work on forgiveness in prevention and treatment programmes.
El perdón y la amistad protegen a los adolescentes víctimas de acoso escolar de la inadaptación emocional. Antecedentes: los adolescentes víctimas de acoso escolar presentan a menudo niveles altos de depresión y de ansiedad y problemas en el manejo de la ira. Se ha observado que tanto el perdón como la amistad funcionan como moderadores de los efectos psicológicos del acoso. Nuestro objetivo fue explorar las funciones del perdón y la amistad en la adaptación de jóvenes víctimas de acoso escolar. Método: se han utilizado datos sobre el acoso, el perdón, la amistad, la depresión y la ira de una muestra de 2.015 adolescentes, de entre 13 y 20 años, de centros de educación de Italia centro-meridional. Resultados: se encuentra que el perdón y no tener un amigo afectan a la inadaptación de forma aditiva. Además, los adolescentes con puntuaciones bajas en perdón tienden a deprimirse y enfadarse. Conclusiones: nuestros datos confirman que tanto el perdón como la amistad funcionan como factores de protección para los adolescentes italianos, aunque no de forma interactiva. Dada la importancia del perdón para el bienestar y puesto que se puede enseñar y potenciar en escuelas y fuera de ellas, conviene incluir el perdón en programas de prevención y tratamiento.
SPANISH
ENGLISH
https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2018.11