Novikova M.A., Matantseva D.A. The Relationship Between Bullying and Social-Emotional Skills: Adaptation of the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ) in a Russian-Speaking Sample

In recent decades, researchers’ attention to the problem of school bullying and its individual psychological predictors has remained strong. Of particular interest is the role of social-emotional skills (SES) as factors capable of reducing the risk of involvement in bullying: there is no clear consensus on how different components of socio-emotional skills (SES) are involved in behavior regulation.

The aim of this study was to adapt the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ) for a Russian-speaking sample and to analyze the relationship between components of SES and students’ involvement in bullying as victims. The study utilized a Russian version of the SECQ, which assesses five components of SES (self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship management, responsible decision-making), and a short version of a school bullying questionnaire, reflecting victimization experience.

The following methods were used for data analysis: confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis. The sample included 3,569 middle and high school students from a large Russian city. The Russian version of the SECQ demonstrated high psychometric properties and conformity with the factor structure of the original version.

The data revealed a statistically significant negative correlation between the level of SES development and the risk of involvement in bullying as a victim for self-regulation, self-awareness, and relationship management; social awareness and responsible decision-making emerged as positive predictors of victimization. Lower scores on these scales were associated with a higher likelihood of victimization.

The development of social-emotional skills in students can be considered a significant resource for bullying prevention, and the adapted SECQ serves as a reliable tool for objective assessment in the Russian context.

Key words: school bullying, student victimization, social-emotional skills, SECQ, social-emotional skills diagnosis

For citation: Novikova, M.A., Matantseva, D.A. (2025). The Relationship Between Bullying and Social-Emotional Skills: Adaptation of the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ) in a Russian-Speaking Sample. New Psychological Research, No. 4, 218–240. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_04_11

Acknowledgment

The study was conducted as part of the HSE University Fundamental Research Program.