Combining cash transfers and cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce antisocial behavior in young men: A mediation analysis of a randomized controlled trial in Liberia.

BACKGROUND: Interventions that combine cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with unconditional cash transfers (UCT) reduce the risk of antisocial behavior (ASB), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In this paper, we test the role of psychological and cognitive mechanisms in explaining this effect. We assessed the mediating role of executive function, self-control, and time preferences. METHODS: We used data from the Sustainable Transformation of Youth in Liberia, a community-based randomized controlled trial of criminally engaged men. The men were randomized into: Group-1: control (n = 237); and Group-2: CBT+UCT (n = 207). ASB was measured 12-13 months after the interventions were completed, and the following mediators were assessed 2-5 weeks later: (i) self-control, (ii) time preferences and (iii) executive functions. We estimated the natural direct effect (NDE) and the natural indirect effect (NIE) of the intervention over ASB. RESULTS: Self-control, time preferences and a weighted index of all three mediators were associated with ASB scores, but the intervention influenced time preferences only [B = 0.09 95%CI (0.03; 0.15)]. There was no evidence that the effect of the intervention on ASB was mediated by self-control [BNIE = 0.007 95%CI (-0.01; 0.02)], time preferences [BNIE = -0.02 95%CI (-0.05; 0.01)], executive functions [BNIE = 0.002 95%CI (-0.002; 0.006)] or the weighted index of the mediators [BNIE = -0.0005 95%CI (-0.03; 0.02)]. CONCLUSIONS: UCT and CBT lead to improvements in ASB, even in the absence of mediation via psychological and cognitive functions. Findings suggest that the causal mechanisms may involve non-psychological pathways.

Educational Prevention of Antisocial and Delinquent Behavior in Brazilian Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Antisocial and criminal behaviors are frequently associated with illegal behaviors committed by adolescents between 12 and 19. This study aims to examine antisocial and criminal behavior in adolescence and establish guidelines that contribute to educational prevention. Specifically, we sought to evaluate self-reports of antisocial and criminal behaviors in adolescents, verifying differences in the variables sex and age. METHOD: A total of 396 adolescents participated in the study. They were aged 12 to 19 years old (M = 15.8, SD = 1.6), were of both sexes (63.9% girls or women and 36.1% boys or men) and were attending primary and secondary schools in Brazil. The Antisocial-Criminal Behaviors Questionnaire (A-D) was administered online. Descriptive and comparative analyses by sex and age were performed. RESULTS: Boys presented more transgressive behaviors than girls, not overall, but in specific behaviors included in the two scales of the questionnaire used. In terms of age, self-reported antisocial and criminal behaviors increased with student age. CONCLUSIONS: From a systemic perspective, educational proposals are made to identify and neutralize risk factors and improve protective factors for adolescents.

Arts and Cultural Engagement, Reportedly Antisocial or Criminalized Behaviors, and Potential Mediators in Two Longitudinal Cohorts of Adolescents.

Arts and cultural engagement is a potential strategy for reducing or preventing reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors (those previously and problematically termed as "delinquent") in adolescence. However, most research to date has focused on arts-based interventions and has not tested arts and cultural engagement in large population-based longitudinal studies. This study investigated whether arts and cultural engagement reduced reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors in two large nationally representative cohorts, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n = 10,610; 50% female, 72% White, age range = 11-21 mean = 15.07) and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (n = 15,214; 50% female, 73% White, age range = 13-16 mean = 14.38). Structural equation modelling also allowed exploration of two potential mechanisms that might link arts and cultural engagement to reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors (self-control and attitudes towards these behaviors). More arts and cultural engagement was associated with fewer reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors, better self-control scores, and fewer positive perceptions of reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors concurrently and one to two years later. Arts and cultural engagement may provide opportunities for adolescents to realize positive developmental outcomes, reducing their risk of reportedly antisocial or criminalized behaviors.

The Protective Effect of Neighbourhood Collective Efficacy On Family Violence and Youth Antisocial Behaviour in Two South Korean Prospective Longitudinal Cohorts.

Neighbourhood collective efficacy has been proposed as a protective factor against family violence and youth antisocial behaviour. However, little is known about its impact on parent and child behaviour in non-Western countries. Using data from two population-based prospective cohorts from South Korea, including primary school students aged 10-12 years (N = 2844) and secondary school students aged 15-17 years (N = 3449), we examined the interplay between collective efficacy, family violence, and youth antisocial behaviour, and whether effects vary by SES. In a first series of models, in both samples, higher levels of collective efficacy were associated with lower levels of family violence, whereas higher levels of family violence were associated with higher levels of youth antisocial behaviour. There was no direct effect of collective efficacy on youth antisocial behaviour; however, there was an indirect effect via family violence. Although these effects were more pronounced in low SES children, there was no evidence of moderation by SES. In a second series of models, in primary school students, collective efficacy was not associated with youth antisocial behaviour. However, there was a direct effect of collective efficacy on family violence, even after adjusting for youth antisocial behaviour. Again, there was no evidence of moderation by SES. In secondary school students, the pattern of results was less consistent, however, again, suggesting more pronounced effects of collective efficacy in low SES children. The findings suggest that collective efficacy may influence family violence more directly, whereas youth antisocial behaviour may be affected more indirectly through the family environment.

Compreendendo a violência a partir da teoria winnicottiana / Comprender la violencia a partir de la teoría de Winnicott / Understanding violence from Winnicott's theory / En comprenant la violence par rapport la théorie de Winnicott

Este trabalho busca compreender, sob a perspectiva de Winnicott, a natureza da violência a partir do desenvolvimento emocional do sujeito. Segundo a Organização Mundial da Saúde (2002), a violência é um grave problema de saúde pública que pode ser prevenido. É fundamental um ambiente facilitador que promova cuidado, confiabilidade, segurança e suporte os impulsos agressivos da criança, assim como a implementação de políticas públicas a partir da criação de projetos que ofereçam um ambiente suficientemente bom para que os jovens possam ressignificar seus comportamentos violentos, tornando-os construtivos. Dessa forma, tanto os pais, quanto a sociedade e o Estado têm responsabilidade no que diz respeito ao tratamento e à prevenção da tendência antissocial para resgatar condições rumo a uma vida saudável

Este trabajo busca comprender la naturaleza de la violencia partiendo del desarrollo emocional del sujeto desde la perspectiva de Winnicott. Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (2002), la violencia es un grave problema de salud pública que se puede prevenir. Es fundamental la existencia de un ambiente facilitador que propicie cuidado, confianza, seguridad y que dé soporte a los impulsos agresivos de los niños, así como la implementación de políticas públicas con proyectos que ofrezcan un ambiente suficientemente bueno para que los jóvenes puedan resignificar sus comportamientos violentos volviéndolos constructivos. De esa forma, tanto los padres como la sociedad y el Estado tienen responsabilidades en lo que se refiere al tratamiento y a la prevención de la tendencia antisocial, para rescatar condiciones para una vida saludable

This study aims to understand the nature of violence from the subject's emotional development according to the perspective of Winnicot. According to the World Health Organization(2002), the violence is a serious problem of health care that can do prevented. It is extremely important, an environment that facilitates, that promotes care, reliability, security and support the children's aggressive impulsive, thus, through the implementation of public policies, based on the creation of projects that offer a good enough environment so that young people can resignifytheir behavior violent, making them constructive. As soon, not only parents, but society and the State have responsibility in the treatment and antisocial prevention, with the purpose of rescuing conditions towards a healthy life

Le travail cherche à comprendre la nature de la violence à partir du développement émotionnel théoriquement proprosé par Winnicott. Selon l'Organisation mondiale de la santé (2002), la violence est un grave problème de santé publique qui peut être évité. Un environnement facilitant, qui favorise la prise en charge, la fiabilité, la sécurité et soutient aux pulsions agressives de l'enfant, ainsi que l'implémentation des politiques publiques, basées sur la création de projets qui offrent un environnement suffisamment bon pour que les jeunes puissent resignifier leurs comportements violents, les rendant constructives, peuvent être des moyens efficaces et fondamentaux pour faire face à la violence. De cette manière, les parents, la société et l'État sont tous responsables du traitement et de la prévention de la tendance antisociale, pour prevenir e favorizer des conditions vers une vie saine

Possible Interventions for Preventing the Development of Psychopathic Traits among Children and Adolescents?

Individuals with the combination of psychopathy and severe conduct disorder often get in a lot of trouble from their early childhood, and can cause great suffering and problems for other people and their immediate environment. Their antisocial behaviour has a tendency to develop into a chronic pattern early in life, and the treatment prognosis in adulthood is poor. A large proportion of serious violent crimes in society can be attributed to this group of perpetrators. Until recently, it has been unclear whether traits of this type can be prevented or changed, so that these individuals and their surroundings can benefit from targeted treatments at an early stage. To reduce serious crime in a society, it is very important to develop effective measures for this particular group. A lack of empathy, indifference to others, and a lack of concern about their own performance appear to be key early signs in children and adolescents with persistent behavioural problems and more serious norm violations who continue into a criminal career upon reaching adulthood. These characteristics have been termed callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and they are considered to be a precursor to psychopathic traits in adulthood. In recent years, several studies have evaluated the degree to which treatments that have been proved effective for children and adolescents with severe behavioural problems also show effectiveness for children and adolescents with CU traits. Interventions specifically tailored to children with CU traits have also been developed with the aim of directly changing the ongoing development of this precursor to psychopathy. In this paper, we will address the extent to which current evidence-based treatment methods developed for children and adolescents with behavioural difficulties are equally effective when a child has CU traits. We will also take a closer look at the effects of interventions designed to change this trait. There will be a discussion regarding what seems relevant for a change in the trait itself, as well as a change in their antisocial behaviour.

Is Family Structure Associated with Deviance Propensity during Adolescence? The Role of Family Climate and Anger Dysregulation.

Transgressive conduct and opposition towards the rules often characterize adolescence. During the development, antisocial and aggressive behavior could be a way to grow personally and to be independent. According to previous studies results, the family has a high impact on teens' aggressive behaviors and moral disengagement. Our research involved 2328 Italian adolescents (13-19 years old) who have filled in the following questionnaires: deviant behavior questionnaire; aggression questionnaire; family communication scale; moral disengagement scale; the multidimensional scale of perceived social support. Our study investigated the role of family structure on deviance propensity through family climate and anger dysregulation joint influence. We conducted a mediation analysis to reach this goal using structural equation modeling (SEM). We have also conducted a multigroup analysis in order to evaluate gender differences in the SEM. Results showed that both family climate and anger dysregulation mediated the relationship between family structure and deviance propensity. The multigroup analysis revealed that the indirect relationship between variables through family climate is significant for both boys and girls (higher in females); variables indirect relationship through anger dysregulation was significant only for girls. These data could be useful for prevention and intervention programs on children-parent relationships and to reduce antisociality and teenager's aggressive behavior.

The Fast Track intervention's impact on behaviors of despair in adolescence and young adulthood.

How to mitigate the dramatic increase in the number of self-inflicted deaths from suicide, alcohol-related liver disease, and drug overdose among young adults has become a critical public health question. A promising area of study looks at interventions designed to address risk factors for the behaviors that precede these -often denoted-"deaths of despair." This paper examines whether a childhood intervention can have persistent positive effects by reducing adolescent and young adulthood (age 25) behaviors that precede these deaths, including suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, hazardous drinking, and opioid use. These analyses test the impact and mechanisms of action of Fast Track (FT), a comprehensive childhood intervention designed to decrease aggression and delinquency in at-risk kindergarteners. We find that random assignment to FT significantly decreases the probability of exhibiting any behavior of despair in adolescence and young adulthood. In addition, the intervention decreases the probability of suicidal ideation and hazardous drinking in adolescence and young adulthood as well as opioid use in young adulthood. Additional analyses indicate that FT's improvements to children's interpersonal (e.g., prosocial behavior, authority acceptance), intrapersonal (e.g., emotional recognition and regulation, social problem solving), and academic skills in elementary and middle school partially mediate the intervention effect on adolescent and young adult behaviors of despair and self-destruction. FT's improvements to interpersonal skills emerge as the strongest indirect pathway to reduce these harmful behaviors. This study provides evidence that childhood interventions designed to improve these skills can decrease the behaviors associated with premature mortality.

Frequently overlooked realistic moral bioenhancement interventions.

Many supporters of 'moral bioenhancement' (MBE), the use of biomedical interventions for moral improvement, have been criticised for having unrealistic proposals. The interventions they suggest have often been called infeasible and their implementation plans vague or unethical. I dispute these criticisms by showing that various interventions to implement MBE are practically and ethically feasible enough to warrant serious consideration. Such interventions include transcranial direct current stimulation over the medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, as well as supplementation with lithium and omega-3. Considering their efficacy and feasibility, it is strange that these interventions have rarely been proposed or discussed as MBE. I review evidence that each of those interventions can reduce antisocial behaviour, reduce racial bias, increase executive function or increase prosocial traits like fairness and altruism. I then specify and defend realistic, ethically permissible ways to implement these interventions, especially for violent offenders and public servants-the former as rehabilitation and the latter to meet the high standards of their occupations. These interventions could be given to violent offenders in exchange for a reduced sentence or compulsorily in some cases. Potential intervention methods for non-prisoners include increasing the USDA-recommended dose of omega-3, encouraging food companies to supplement their products with omega-3 or trace lithium, requiring MBE for employment as a police officer or political leader, and insurance companies providing discounts for undergoing MBE. In some reasonably limited form, using these interventions may be a good first step to implement the project of MBE.

School Cohesion Perception Discrepancy and Student Delinquency.

Research suggests that positive school environments contribute to lower levels of school disorder. Studies have also documented stark differences between how students and personnel perceive their schools. The current study examines such "perception discrepancies" as a meaningful dimension of the school environment, investigating the hypothesis that when students perceive their schools as less cohesive than their teachers, they are more likely to engage in delinquent conduct. The University of Missouri-St. Louis Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (UMSL CSSI) study allows comparisons between student and personnel perceptions of school climate among an analytic sample of 2741 students nested in 12 American middle schools (average age = 13.6; 54% female; 39% black; 39% white). The results of a series of hierarchical regression models demonstrate that students engage in higher levels of delinquency when they perceive their school environments as less cohesive, on average, than do school personnel. This suggests that discrepancies among students and personnel concerning aspects of the school climate represent a deficiency in the school's ability to protect against student delinquency.

A tailored cognitive behavioral program for juvenile justice-referred females at risk of substance use and delinquency: A pilot quasi-experimental trial.

This pilot quasi-experimental trial tested a gender-responsive cognitive behavioral group intervention with 87 court-involved female adolescents (5 juvenile courts) who were at indicated risk for substance use disorder. Participants in the intervention (n = 57) received twice weekly group sessions for 10 weeks (20 sessions) focused on building emotional, thought and behavior regulation skills and generalizing these skills to relationally-based scenarios (GOAL: Girls Only Active Learning). Youth in the control condition (n = 30) received services as usual, which included non-gender-specific aggression management training, individual counseling and no services. The GOAL program was found to be acceptable to youth and parents and feasible to implement within a juvenile court setting using skilled facilitators. Compared to services as usual, the program significantly and meaningfully reduced self-reported delinquent behavior (ß = 0.84, p < 0.05) over 6 months, and exhibited trend level effects for reduced substance use (ß = 0.40, p = 0.07). The program had mixed or no effects on family conflict and emotion regulation skills. These findings are discussed in light of treatment mechanisms and gender-responsive services.

Psychopathy in Adolescence: Causes, Traits and Risk Behaviours.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder defined by a specific set of behaviours and personality traits evaluated as negative and socially harmful. The modern conception of Psychopathy was introduced by Clerckley in "Mask of Sanity" (1941), and refined by Hare with the construction of the PCL (1980, 1991), a gold standard instrument for the evaluation of the disorder. Manipulation, deception, grandeur, emotional superficiality, lack of empathy and remorse, impulsive and irresponsible lifestyle, persistent violation of social norms and expectations (Cleckley 1976, Hare 2003) are some behavioural aspects that characterize psychopathic subjects. With this work we intend to study in depth the causes, the traits, in particular the so-called callous-unemotional and risk factors that lead a teenager to become a psychopathic subject. The diagnostic tools useful for the assessment and for the possibilities of intervention that can be put into practice will also be described.

Does the Fast Track Intervention Prevent Later Psychosis Symptoms?

The Fast Track (FT) intervention was a multimodal preventive intervention addressing antisocial development across 10 years of childhood and early adolescence. The intervention included parent management training, child social-cognitive skills training, peer coaching and mentoring, academic skills tutoring, and a classroom social-emotional learning program. While not specifically designed to target psychosis symptoms (e.g., social withdrawal, thought abnormalities), the present study aimed to examine whether the FT intervention prevented psychosis symptoms through childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. Participants included the FT intervention and high-risk control samples (N = 891; 69% male; M age = 6.58 years, SD = .48). Psychosis symptoms were assessed using the "thought problems" subscale of the parent-report Child Behavior Checklist during grades 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7, and the self-report Adult Behavior Checklist at age 25 years, in line with prior research using this measure. Growth models included the FT condition and covariates (i.e., initial risk screen score, cohort, socioeconomic status, rural/urban status, race, and sex) as predictors; and child, adolescent, and adult psychosis symptoms as outcomes. Intervention status was not significantly associated with the slope of psychosis symptoms; however, after controlling for concurrent cannabis use, intervention participants reported lower levels of psychosis symptoms over time. Findings suggest that interventions targeting antisocial behavior may prevent psychosis symptoms in the long term.

Preventing at-risk children from developing antisocial and criminal behaviour: a longitudinal study examining the role of parenting, community and societal factors in middle childhood.

BACKGROUND: Many childhood risk factors are known to be associated with children's future antisocial and criminal behaviour, including children's conduct disorders and family difficulties such as parental substance abuse. Some families are involved with many different services but little is known about what middle childhood factors moderate the risk of poor outcomes. This paper reports the quantitative component of a mixed methods study investigating what factors can be addressed to help families improve children's outcomes in the longer term. The paper examines six hypotheses, which emerged from a qualitative longitudinal study of the service experiences of eleven vulnerable families followed over five years. The hypotheses concern factors which could be targeted by interventions, services and policy to help reduce children's behaviour problems in the longer term. METHODS: The hypotheses are investigated using a sample of over one thousand children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Multiple logistic regression examines associations between potentially-moderating factors (at ages 5-10) and antisocial and criminal behaviour (at ages 16-21) for children with behaviour problems at baseline. RESULTS: ALSPAC analyses support several hypotheses, suggesting that the likelihood of future antisocial and criminal behaviour is reduced in the presence of the following factors: reduction in maternal hostility towards the child (between ages 4 and 8), reduction in maternal depression (between the postnatal period and when children are age 10), mothers' positive view of their neighbourhood (age 5) and lack of difficulty paying the rent (age 7). The evidence was less clear regarding the role of social support (age 6) and mothers' employment choices (age 7). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest, in conjunction with findings from the separate qualitative analysis, that improved environments around the child and family during middle childhood could have long-term benefits in reducing antisocial and criminal behaviour.

Understanding the development of psychopathy: progress and challenges.

Psychopathy is an adult condition that incurs substantial societal and individual costs. Here we review neurocognitive and genetically informative studies that shed light on how and why this condition emerges. Children cannot present with psychopathy. However, the presence of callous-unemotional (CU) traits can distinguish a group of children who are at elevated risk of psychopathy in adulthood. These children display diminished empathy and guilt and show attenuated brain activation to distress cues in others. Genetically informative studies indicate that individual differences in CU traits show moderate-to-strong heritability, but that protective environmental factors can counter heritable risk. On the basis of the extant research findings, we speculate on what might represent the priorities for research over the next decade. We also consider the clinical implications of these research findings. In particular, we consider the importance of delineating what precisely works for children with CU traits (and their parents) and the ways in which intervention and prevention programs may be optimized to improve engagement as well as clinical outcomes.

Agreement Between Parent- and Self-Reports of Psychopathic Traits and Externalizing Behaviors in a Clinical Sample.

A number of studies have identified discrepancies in informant ratings of externalizing behaviors in youth, but it is unclear whether similar discrepancies exist between informants when rating psychopathic traits. In this study, we examined parent-child agreement on ratings of both psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors, and examined the factors that influence agreement in both of these domains. A total of 282 children between 7 and 16 years (M = 10.60 years, SD = 1.91) from an outpatient child psychiatric clinic participated in this study. Our findings revealed low levels of parent-child agreement on these measures (ICC values ranging from .02 to .30 for psychopathic traits; ICC values ranging from .09 to .30 for externalizing behaviors). In addition, our findings did not support the moderating effects of child's age, gender, clinical diagnosis, informant, and parental conflict on the relationship between parent- and child-ratings of psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors. Further research is needed to better understand how parents and child reports of child's externalizing behaviors and psychopathic traits are similar and/or different from one another and factors that influence these agreements.

Violent Video Games Exposed: A Blow by Blow Account of Senseless Violence in Games.

Violent video game (VVG) use has repeatedly been found to be associated with hostile expectations about others, desensitization to violence, decreased empathy and prosocial behavior, and aggressive thoughts and behaviors. Although these research findings have been widely publicized, VVGs remain the most extensively played games and represent a multi-billion dollar industry. Although VVGs are typically rated "mature," indicating they are not suitable for youths, they are often purchased for youths. This may be in part because there is currently no system available to consumers that thoroughly describes the content of video games, and much of the public is unaware of the types of violence that characterize game play. The purpose of this paper is to describe the violent content of some of the top VVGs, based on sales. For the purposes of this issue, acts of senseless, unprovoked violence will be described in detail.

Psychopathic traits mediate the effects of neighbourhood risk on juvenile antisocial behaviour / Los rasgos psicopáticos median el efecto de la marginalidad social en la conducta antisocial juvenil

BACKGROUND: Research of the indirect effects of neighbourhood risk through psychopathic personality traits (i.e., impulsiveness, narcissism and callous-unemotional traits) on juvenile antisocial behaviour has become relevant. METHODS: In the current study, mediation effects were assessed using a sample composed of 406 young people between 14 and 21 years old, 82.7% males, from juvenile centres in Galicia and Andalucía (Spain). RESULTS: The results showed significant mediation effects of neighbourhood risk on antisocial behaviour through impulsiveness and callous-unemotional traits. CONCLUSIONS: The implications of the mediation effects for prevention, risk assessment, and risk management in juvenile offenders are discussed

ANTECEDENTES: el estudio de los efectos indirectos de la marginalidad social a través de los rasgos de personalidad psicopática (i.e., impulsividad, narcisismo y dureza-insensibilidad emocional) sobre el comportamiento antisocial juvenil ha cobrado gran relevancia. MÉTODO: en este estudio se analizan los efectos de mediación utilizando una muestra compuesta por 406 jóvenes de entre 14 y 21 años, el 82,7% hombres, de centros de menores en Galicia y Andalucía (España). RESULTADOS: los resultados mostraron efectos de mediación significativos de la marginalidad sobre el comportamiento antisocial a través de la impulsividad y la dureza-insensibilidad emocional. CONCLUSIONES: se discuten las implicaciones de los efectos de mediación para la prevención, evaluación y gestión del riesgo en jóvenes infractores

Early Identification and Treatment of Antisocial Behavior.

Severe and persistent antisocial behavior is a prevalent, serious, and costly mental health problem. Individuals who are most likely to show persistent antisocial behavior through adolescence and into adulthood often show patterns of severe and varied conduct problems early in childhood. Treatments that intervene early in the development of these problems are most effective and least costly. Furthermore, there appear to be several common causal pathways that differ in their genetic, emotional, cognitive, and contextual characteristics. These pathways are differentiated by the level of callous-unemotional traits displayed by the individual.

Cyberbullying: a systematic review of research, its prevalence and assessment issues in Spanish studies / Cyberbullying: revisión sistemática de la investigación y aspectos relativos a su prevalencia y evaluación en los estudios españoles

Research on cyberbullying started at the beginning of the 21st century and the number of studies on the topic is increasing very rapidly. Nevertheless, the criteria used to define the phenomenon and evaluation strategies are still under debate. Therefore, it is still difficult to compare the findings among the studies or to describe their prevalence in different geographic areas or time points. Thus, the current systematic review has been conducted with the objective of describing the studies on the phenomenon in Spain taking into account its different definitions and evaluation strategies in relation to its prevalence. After conducting systematic searches and applying the inclusion criteria, 29 articles reporting the results of 21 different studies were included. It was found that the number of studies on the topic in Spain is growing and that most of the definitions include the criteria of repetition, intention, and power imbalance. It was also found that timeframes and cut-off points varied greatly among the studies. All the studies used self-reports with one-item or multi-item instruments. The prevalence also varied depending on the evaluation strategies and when assessed with multi-item instruments it was about twice as high as when assessed with one-item instruments. It is suggested that specific instruments should be chosen depending on the research questions posed in each investigation and that it could be useful to unify the criteria for further advancement of the field

La investigación sobre el cyberbullying comenzó a principios del siglo XXI y el número de estudios sobre el tema ha aumentado rápidamente. No obstante, los criterios para definir el fenómeno y las estrategias de evaluación aún están siendo debatidos. Por ello, aún es difícil comparar los resultados de los distintos estudios o describir la prevalencia en distintas zonas geográficas y momentos temporales. Esta revisión sistemática se ha realizado con el objetivo de describir los estudios sobre el fenómeno en España, teniendo en cuenta las diferentes definiciones y estrategias de evaluación en relación con su prevalencia. Una vez realizadas las búsquedas sistemáticas y aplicados los criterios de inclusión, se incluyeron 29 artículos con los resultados de 21 estudios diferentes. Se encontró que el número de los estudios sobre el tema en España está aumentando y que la mayoría de las definiciones incluye los criterios de repetición, intención y desequilibrio de poder. También se encontró que el periodo de tiempo considerado y los puntos de corte varían mucho entre estudios. Todas las investigaciones utilizaron instrumentos de autoinforme, con uno o varios ítems. La prevalencia también variaba en función de las estrategias de evaluación. Así, cuando se evaluaba con instrumentos multi-ítem era aproximadamente dos veces más alta que cuando se evaluaba con instrumentos de ítem único. Se sugiere que sean elegidos instrumentos específicos en función de las preguntas de investigación planteadas en cada estudio y que podría ser útil unificar los criterios con el fin de avanzar en este campo