Bullying, cyberbullying, and adoption: What is the role of student–teacher connectedness?

Bullying and cyberbullying have rarely been studied among the adoptive population, although the few studies available show adopted students frequently experience these phenomena. To address this research gap, this paper examined potential differences in bullying and cyberbullying between domestic adoptees, intercountry adoptees and non adopted students, paying separate attention to frequent and occasional victimisation and perpetration experiences. In addition, the aims of the paper include analysing student teacher connectedness in these groups and exploring its potential protective role for the aforementioned bullying and cyberbullying experiences. The sample consists of 541 adopted adolescents (67.1% intercountry adoptees and 32.9% domestic adoptees) and 582 non-adopted adolescents aged 11 to 18 years who had participated in the 17/18 edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in Spain. Results show that the likelihood of involvement in bullying and cyberbullying (either victimisation or perpetration) was lower for the non-adopted group, whereas domestic adoptees were significantly more likely to report these experiences. Furthermore, student-teacher connectedness was lower among domestic adoptees compared to their non-adopted peers. Finally, teacher connectedness was consistently associated with a lower likelihood of frequent bullying and cyberbullying victimisation, and of both occasional and frequent cyberbullying perpetration. Overall, our findings are consistent with an increased risk of bullying and cyberbullying among domestic adoptees and a predominantly consistent protective role of student-teacher connectedness, although differences depending on the specific kind of experience deserve further examination in future research.