Bullying in school and cyberbullying among adolescents without and with special educational needs in emotional–social development and in learning in Germany

Bullying in school and cyberbullying are highly relevant issues. Students with special educational needs in emotional–social development and learning show individual characteristics that could be risk factors for bullying perpetration and victimization (e.g., externalizing behavior problems or poor social skills). Therefore, the present study was carried out to explore differences in school bullying and cyberbullying between adolescents without and with the aforementioned special educational needs. A cross‐sectional questionnaire study was carried out with N = 649 (Mage = 13.66, SD = 2.17, 61% boys and 39% girls) participants from Lower Saxony (Germany). Analyses of covariance only revealed differences regarding school bullying. Adolescents with special educational needs in emotional–social development were significantly more often bullying perpetrators. For the victim role, there are no differences between the groups without and with special educational needs in emotional–social development and in learning. The externalizing behavior problems of adolescents were considered to be the main predictor of bullying behavior and victim experiences. To imply targeted bullying interventions and preventions further research is needed focusing on characteristics, risk, and protective factors of special educational needs in emotional–social development. Key Findings: Students with special educational needs in emotional–social development and learning show individual characteristics that could be risk factors for bullying perpetration and victimization. In this study adolescents with special educational needs in emotional–social development were significantly more often bullying perpetrators in school than adolescents without or with special educational needs in learning. For cyberbullying and the victim role, there were no differences. Externalizing behavior problems were considered to be the main predictor of bullying behavior and victim experiences. Highlights Adolescents with special educational needs in emotional–social development were significantly more often bullying perpetrators in school than adolescents without or with special educational needs in learning. For cyberbullying and the victim role, there were no differences between the groups without and with special educational needs in emotional–social development and in learning. Externalizing behavior problems were considered to be the main predictor of bullying behavior and victim experiences.