Adolescents’ trajectories of social anxiety and social withdrawal: Are they influenced by traditional bullying and cyberbullying roles?

This study analyzed if adolescents' social anxiety and social withdrawal trajectories during one year in middle school were associated with their involvement in traditional bullying or cyberbullying roles. Social anxiety and social withdrawal were assessed three times during one year, through self-reports and teacher reports. The sample was composed by 511 middle school students (Mage = 12.70; SD = 1.04; 50.7% boys). Results from the self-reports showed that victims and bully–victims did not display differences in the initial levels of social anxiety but displayed more pronounced increases in both social anxiety and social withdrawal during the analyzed period than students non-involved in both traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Furthermore, teacher reports indicated that victims and bully–victims displayed higher initial social anxiety and social withdrawal levels and a more pronounced increase in social withdrawal than students non-involved in bullying. The trajectories of social anxiety and social withdrawal were moderated by classroom size, but not by gender. These results indicate that involvement in traditional bullying and cyberbullying, as victims or bully–victims, is associated with a pronounced increase in social anxiety and social withdrawal.