Perceptions of School Safety and Teachers' Responses in the Context of Appearance-Based Bullying: A Short-Term...

Appearance-based bullying represents a specific form of stigmatizing victimization that can undermine students' perception of school as a safe environment, particularly during adolescence when bodily characteristics become central to identity and peer dynamics. Despite its relevance, there is limited evidence on the prevalence of appearance-based bullying and how teachers' responses shape perceptions of school safety for students whose appearance deviates from dominant standards. This two-wave short-term longitudinal study-conducted with a sample of 968 students aged 10-18 from eight schools in southern Spain (M_age = 12.81, SD = 1.84; 45.8% girls; 68.8% secondary school)-pursued two aims: (1) to examine the prevalence of non-victimization, general bullying victimization, and appearance-based bullying victimization, and observe for differences by sex and educational level; and (2) to analyze whether sex, educational level, type of victimization, and students' perceptions of teachers' responses predict perceptions of school safety for students with diverse physical appearances. Appearance-based bullying victimization was reported by around 11% of students. There were no significant differences by sex or educational level in the distribution of victimization types. Latent profile analysis identified four distinct teacher response profiles: consistent intervention (67.3%), biased intervention (14.1%), ambivalent intervention (4.4%), and intermittent intervention (14.2%). Regression analyses showed that attending secondary school, experiencing appearance-based bullying, and perceiving inconsistent teacher responses were associated with perceptions of less school safety. The findings underscore the importance of coherent and sustained teachers' responses, as well as promoting school environments that explicitly affirm body diversity to foster inclusive and protective climates.