Prevalence and self‐report of bullying after in‐class police orientation talk

Abstract Objective We assessed the prevalence of bullying and cyberbullying in 12–16‐year‐olds and the association with student self‐reports after a police informative talk. Design We used a survey to assess the impact of the intervention: 1458 high school students received a police informative talk during the 2018–2019 school year and completed the self‐administered EBIP‐Q and ECI‐Q questionnaires. Perceptions of conduct and bystanders' attitudes were assessed. Correspondence indexes were calculated using Cohen's kappa and gender differences studied using logistic regression. Results 81.34% (95% CI: 79.33–83.34) of students were involved in bullying and 54.75% (95% CI: 52.19–56.76) in cyberbullying. Almost 90% of participants did not perceive their real bullying correctly. Girls were more frequently victims of bullying and cyberbullying (OR = 1.67 and OR = 1.22, p = .004), but more frequently self‐reported being bullies or victim/bully (OR = 0.57 and 0.39, p < .05). Male bystanders reported 7.33% ( p < .001) more feelings of inadequacy than girls when witnessing bullying. Conclusion Poor self‐reporting reflects poor understanding of bullying and cyber‐bullying. Police information sessions might produce the opposite reactions in adolescents, as they reduce bullying to visible, harmful violence. Educators should focus on adolescent relationships rather than violence prevention. A friendly, male‐targeted approach is needed.