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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.

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Validation of a Scale for Assessing Bystander Responses in Bullying

David Álvarez-García1, Robert Thornberg2, and Zara Suárez-García1


1 Universidad de Oviedo, and 2 Linköping University

Background: This study sought to analyse the metric properties of the scores obtained with an adaptation of the Student Bystander Behaviour Scale (SBBS; Thornberg & Jungert, 2013) in Spanish primary-school students and to examine the types of responses students reported as witnesses to school bullying, along with their relationship to empathy. Method: The Spanish adaptation of the SBBS and a self-report questionnaire about empathy were given to 1108 primary-school students, aged 9-11 years old (48.4% girls) in Asturias (Spain). The students were from 29 schools, selected by simple random sampling from all of the primary schools in the region. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the adapted version, like the original SBBS, measured three types of witness response to school bullying: defender, passive, and pro-bully. Most students reported that they defended, or would defend, the victim. This trend was more marked in those who had not witnessed bullying. The type of response to bullying was related to empathy, positively with defender responses, and negatively with passive and pro-bully responses. Conclusions: The scores from the adapted version of the SBBS demonstrated metrics of reliability and validity suitable for identifying the type of response to school bullying from primary-school students.

Validación de una Escala para Evaluar la Respuesta de los Testigos Ante el Acoso Escolar. Antecedentes: los objetivos han sido analizar las propiedades métricas de las puntuaciones obtenidas con una adaptación de la Student Bystander Behaviour Scale (SBBS; Thornberg & Jungert, 2013) en estudiantes de Educación Primaria de España, examinar el tipo de respuesta ante el acoso escolar más habitualmente informado por el alumnado como testigo y la relación de esta respuesta con la empatía. Método: se aplicó la SBBS adaptada y un cuestionario de autoinforme sobre empatía a 1.108 estudiantes de Primaria, de 9 a 11 años (48,4% niñas) de Asturias (España), pertenecientes a 29 colegios seleccionados mediante muestreo aleatorio simple de entre el total de centros de Primaria de la región. Resultados: análisis factoriales exploratorios y confirmatorios señalan que las puntuaciones obtenidas con la SBBS adaptada permiten medir, al igual que la versión original, tres tipos de respuesta como testigo ante el acoso escolar: defensora, pasiva y pro-bully. La mayoría del alumnado informa que defiende o defendería a la víctima, tendencia aún más marcada entre quienes informan no estar presenciando acoso escolar. El tipo de respuesta ante el acoso se relaciona con la empatía: positivamente con respuestas defensoras y negativamente con pasivas y pro-bully. Conclusiones: las puntuaciones obtenidas con la versión adaptada del SBBS han mostrado garantías métricas de fiabilidad y validez, lo que sugiere que es una escala apropiada para medir el tipo de respuesta hacia el acoso escolar en estudiantes de Educación Primaria.

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Impact Factor JCR SSCI Clarivate 2023 = 3.2 (Q1) / CiteScore SCOPUS 2023 = 6.5 (Q1)