Grooming, Cyberbullying and Sexting in Chile according of sex and school management or administrative dependency

Abstract

Introduction: Children, teenagers and young men are increasingly experiencing their well-being related to the internet and the new digital technologies.

The objective of this study is to describe the presence of Cyberbullying, Sexting and Grooming in students in Chile according to gender and type of school management or administrative dependency.

Subjects and Method: Exploratory and descriptive study. The sample design was non-probabilistic by quotas in 60 transactional establishments. The sample was weighted considering the age range and gender according to national data. The Digital Literacy Questionnaire “Divergente-SerDigital” (2010) was applied to a sample of 12,926 students, aged 5 to 18 years. 4,790 men and 8,136 women. Average age 13.17 years. Frequencies were analyzed and the Chi-squared contrast statistic was used to determine statistically significant differences.

Results: The item Total Grooming (cheating) is presented as the main risk, 12.6% in municipal dependent schools (MDS), 8.2% in subsidized private schools (SPS), and 8.4% in private schools (PS). When considering gender, Grooming is observed mainly in Men, 20.4% in MDS, 19.9% in SPS and, 16.9% in PS. It is noteworthy that Women perform less Cyberbullying (active) according to school administration with 4.2% in MDS, 2.4% in SPS and, 2.6% in PS, with statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in relation to Men. It also highlights the indicator Sexting (send) in Men, higher in PS with 10.6%.

Conclusion: Grooming, Cyberbullying and Sexting risks are presented in the three types of administration with specific characteristics. These data can be a guide to work in promotion and prevention as well as in the schematization of cases according to type of school administration.