Adolescents represent the future generation, so it is important to pay attention to behaviors that involve them as actors in social activities and constitute the expression of an adequate growth path. Engaging in pro-environmental behaviors leads adolescents to do something good for themselves, for their own community, and for the place in which they live, and this type of conduct increases their levels of well-being and place attachment. This study examines the association between pro-environmental behavior and personal and social well-being in a sample of 1925 adolescents aged 14 to 20 years. Structural equation analyses showed a direct positive effect of pro-environmental behavior on personal and social well-being as well as place attachment. The latter partially mediated the relationship between pro-environmental behaviors and personal and social well-being. This study is significant in that it provides new data on how pro-environmental behaviors enhance adolescents’ personal and social well-being by potentially ensuring long-term benefits, thereby suggesting that it is important to stimulate, motivate, and recommend these kinds of actions.

Although previous studies seemed to recognize negative associations between self-esteem and bullying/cyberbullying and victimization/cybervictimization behaviours, the findings are controversial. The current study tried to shed light on this issue by using a person-oriented approach among Italian adolescents. Participants included 936 students aged 13-16 years. Different domains of self-esteem and bullying/cyberbullying and victimization/cybervictimization behaviour during the previous 2-3 months were assessed through a self-administered questionnaire. The results suggested four self-esteem profiles, i.e., school/family-oriented, consistently high, self-derogation, and body/peer-oriented. Students in the consistently high self-esteem profile seemed to be more protected against bullying/cyberbullying and victimization/cybervictimization behaviours compared to those in the self-derogation profile. The findings showed that among adolescents there is a degree of heterogeneity in the self-esteem domain associated with different levels of bullying/cyberbullying and victimization/cybervictimization behaviour. This suggests that different domains of self-esteem and their interdependencies play a crucial role during adolescence, with consequences also in terms of diverse patterns of active and passive aggressive behaviour.

Developing social responsibility values and a sense of community during adolescence is an important step that leads to prosocial behaviors toward others and feeling good about oneself and fellow community members. In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, sustainability is considered in a broader perspective as aimed at the development of human society, improving individual well-being and the quality of life for individuals and communities. In this sense, from a psychology of sustainability perspective, it is important to better understand the meaning of the connections between individual development and communities and the complexity of their relationships. The present study investigates the relationship between social responsibility values and well-being during adolescence, in a sample of 1925 students aged 14 to 20 years, also examining the mediating role of the sense of community and prosocial behaviors. Our mediational analysis suggests that the relation between social responsibility values and well-being is fully mediated by the sense of community and prosocial behaviors. Moreover, the sense of community has a direct effect on prosocial behaviors. This study, thus, provides new evidence and enlarges the wider sustainability science of how values and social participation enhance well-being.

Despite existing research on the factors associated with problematic social media use (PSMU), cyberbullying (CB), and cybervictimization (CV) among youth, few studies have explored the relationships between these variables. Rooted in the Maladaptive Coping Theory, this study investigates the complex dynamics of digital behaviors among Italian preadolescents, exploring the interplay between PSMU, moral disengagement, retaliation, and their connections with cyberbullying and cybervictimization. A total of 489 participants (M_age = 11.90, SD = 0.783; 50.3% female) from schools in southern Italy completed an online self-report questionnaire. Descriptive analyses were conducted and correlations between variables were computed. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed using PROCESS in SPSS 27.0. The results of the study indicated that PSMU positively predicted both CB and CV. Moral disengagement (MD) was identified as a mediator in this association, elucidating the role of justifications and cognitive restructuring in facilitating negative online behaviors. Most notably, retaliation emerged as a moderator that amplified the effects of PSMU on cyberbullying and cybervictimization. These findings underscore the pivotal role of PSMU in shaping digital landscapes for preadolescents and highlight the need for tailored interventions. In addition, they highlight MD as a maladaptive coping strategy in the online realm, revealing its instrumental role in perpetuating negative online behaviors. This study’s insights suggest the need for interventions to address the complexity of young people’s online interactions and promote a safer digital environment.

The spread of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has brought advantages and disadvantages, particularly impacting youth, who use the Internet and social media applications daily. In preadolescents’ social development, problematic social media use (PSMU) and cyberbullying (CB) are potential risk factors across several countries. PSMU is defined as the lack of regulation of social media platforms that is associated with negative outcomes in everyday life, while CB refers to using digital technology to harass, threaten, or embarrass another person. Among preadolescents, CB perpetration is frequently associated with cybervictimization (CV) experiences. The underlying mechanisms that drive this relationship have received limited attention. The aim of the cross-national comparative study, rooted in the general aggression model, is to investigate the direct and indirect effects between cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization, testing a model involving PSMU and moral disengagement (MD) as serial mediators in this association. A total of 895 Italian and Spanish preadolescents (M_age = 11.23, SD_age = 1.064) completed a self-report survey during school hours. Descriptive statistics were computed, and a serial mediation model was run. The results show that CV is positively associated with CB, and that PSMU and MD positively serially mediate the CV–CB link. This study’s insights suggest the need for tailored educational interventions targeting European youth, to promote more positive online social interactions and a safer digital environment.