Peer aggression in the digital era: coping strategies adopted by students in the last two years of primary school and the first two years of secondary school

The influence of age and particularly gender is a topic of much debate in research on aggression between peers. The emergence of new types of attacks also raises important questions regarding attitudes to different forms of aggression and the role of peers. This study explores the coping strategies adopted by students in the last two years of primary school and the first two years of secondary school in response to direct, relational and technology-mediated aggression, from the perspective of both victim and observer. It also analyses the possible association between personal confidence in one's ability to respond in a positive way to challenging or threatening situations, and preferred strategy in response to aggression. Participants were 1,018 students from 12 schools in the Autonomous Region of the Basque Country in Spain, and the data were collected using two instruments: a situational questionnaire presenting prototypical cases of three types of aggression and a proactive coping questionnaire (PCS). Among the results obtained, based on SPSS analyses (Pearson's chi squared, standardised residuals, Student's t test and ANOVA), the following findings are of particular interest: 1) A statistically significant relationship was found between gender and coping strategy in all types of aggression analysed, particularly in assertiveness and negative reciprocity; 2) the association between educational stage and chosen strategy was only significant for some types of aggression and 3) no significant differences were found between boys and girls in relation to proactive coping, although a difference of this kind was observed between primary and secondary school students. Also, an association was found between proactive coping and response to aggression for the position of victim. These data indicate that the percentage distribution of strategies chosen by students varies in accordance with the position they place themselves in (victim or classmate), the context and the type of aggression involved.