Associations Between Personal and Social Responsibility and Bullying Behaviours in Physical Education

The aim of this study was to analyse the associations between personal and social responsibility in Physical Education classes and bullying-related behaviours, specifically victimisation, perpetration, and active and passive bystander behaviours. A total of 958 students (50% girls), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.65; SD = 1.36), participated in the study. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare levels of personal and social responsibility by sex. Subsequently, Spearman correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated that girls showed higher levels of social responsibility than boys, with no significant sex differences in personal responsibility. Regression analyses revealed that personal responsibility positively predicted active bystander behaviour and negatively predicted passive bystander behaviour. In contrast, social responsibility was negatively associated with both victimisation and perpetration. In conclusion, social responsibility is associated with lower involvement in bullying behaviours, while personal responsibility is linked to greater active engagement against bullying.