Abstract:

The present study investigated comparatively cyberbullying and empathy between sixth grade elementary school students with and without Special Educational Needs (SEN). Overall, 120 students with SEN (Autistic Spectrum Disorder-ASD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-ADHD, learning disabilities) and 120 students without SEN from 29 randomly selected Greek schools of mainstream education completed a self-report questionnaire, which included demographic questions as well as scales related to the variables involved (cyberbullying, empathy). According to the results, both male and female students, and primarily those with SEN (ASD), seemed to engage with cyberbullying (as victims/bullies). Similarly, students with SEN and mainly those with ASD expressed lower empathic skills (affective and cognitive), compared to the rest of the participating students. Furthermore, both affective and cognitive empathy seemed to negatively predict involvement in cyberbullying (as victims/bullies) for all the participants. The findings imply the necessity to implement prevention measures for elementary school students, and especially for children with SEN, to strengthen their empathic skills and promote their safe online behavior.

Keywords:

Cyberbullying, empathy, elementary school students, special educational needs.