Running head: CYBERBULLYING 1

A Review of Cyberbullying
James (Zan) Wiggins
Coastal Carolina University
EDIT 704, Section D1
July 31, 2018
CYBERBULLYING 2

Introduction

With the increase in social networking and social networking applications on

smartphones, more and more students are becoming involved in cyberbullying, as the target, the

initiator, or both (Batool, S., Yousaf, & Batool, F., 2017). Teachers, parents, and the general

public have become concerned with the effects of cyberbullying on children, and ways to detect

and prevent this negative communication. The articles I have summarized below review the

causes and effects of cyberbullying along with issues to retaining participants in long-term

cyberbullying studies.

Analysis

Bullying is identified as a tactic utilized by a person towards another person who cannot

protect themselves, with the goal of gaining power over the less aggressive person. Batool et al.

(2017) investigate to determine if cyberbullying has an emotional or academic impact on

students, if there is a gender that is more involved in and affect by bullying, and if bullying in

social media have an effect on social relationships. The study consisted of 255 respondents

between the ages of 15 and 24, who self-reported that they had previously faced cyberbullying.

Students completed the survey on their own, with their responses being anonymous, voluntary,

and confidential.

From the respondents, more than half reported using social media sites, and they are seen

as an important part of their daily lives. The respondents report that social media sites allow

them to create their own social identity and to make new friends. When asked if cyberbullying

affected their relationships with their friends, 33.4% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed

with this statement, and 40.2% agreed or strongly agreed that gossip about them on such sites

creates gaps in their interaction with friends. Thus, cyberbullying does have an effect on social
CYBERBULLYING 3

interactions. Academically, 27.8% of students reported their grades and interest in their

academics were negatively affected by cyberbullying, and 18.5% of the respondents often or

always miss a test after being electronically harassed. While there are benefits to social media

sites, there can be harm done. Males were highly involved in bullying while females were

significantly less involved, but the emotional and academic effects were greater for the females

versus the males.

Lee and Wu (2018) utilized the attitude-social influence-efficacy model to determine if

there is a correlation between cyberbullying behavior and knowledge, risk perception, social

influence, and self-efficacy. The authors utilized 120 volunteers who had witnessed or

participated in cyberbullying behavior as adolescents, with their average age at the time of the

study of 20.77 years old. The participants consisted of 67 males and 53 females, for 55.83% and

44.17%, respectively. They were evaluated on their knowledge of cyberbullying, their opinion of

perceived risk, societal influence, and their willingness to participate in cyberbullying. The

participants had been utilizing the Internet since middle school (9.4 years on average) and

utilized cellular phones primarily (77.5%) to access the internet for an average of 5.80 hours per

day. The male subjects had participated in cyberbullying significantly more than the female

subjects, 68.18% to 31.82%, respectively. The primary cyberbullying behavior the majority of

the subjects (77.72%) participated in was uploading embarrassing photos of friends online. It

should also be noted that students who reported participating in cyberbullying spend an average

of 1.44 hours more online each day than those who did not report participating in cyberbullying.

The results of the study by Lee and Wu (2018) supported the hypotheses that attitude

towards cyberbullying affected intention, and they intention affected behavior. As expected,

social influence impacted intention and behavior, but self-efficacy did not affect intention and
CYBERBULLYING 4

behavior. Additionally, this study found that male students are more likely to engage in

cyberbullying, along with those students who spent more time online. This study can be utilized

as a stepping stone to further study, by identifying those persons who are active bullies,

bystanders to bullying, and victims to bullying, and then determining the factors associated with

each category and the probability of participation or being a victim of bullying.

Bingol (2018) studied 223 high school students in hopes of determining the variables

affecting cyberbullying and self-efficacy. During adolescence, many changes happen, whether

they be cognitive, emotional, physical, or social, which can lead to risky and risk-taking

behavior. Cyberbullying has emerged in first-world counties over the last decade, and is a

problem among young people that is more harmful than initially expected, including emotional

and academic issues.

The participants in this study were all 11th grade students, with 77.1% being female and

22.9% being male, and all completed a questionnaire concerning self-efficacy, gratitude, early

memories of warmth and safety, cyberbullying, and cyber victimization. Answers were

compared as a whole as well as against the different genders. It was found that females were

significantly more likely to experience cyber victimization, and that cyber victimization has a

significant impact on cyberbullying. Bingol (2018) also found that in this sample, an overall low

level of experiencing cyber victimization and cyberbullying, which may be attributed to family

and social relationships. Additionally, early memories of warmth and safety predict self-efficacy.

Individuals with factors that lead them to be the victim of cyberbullying also leads them to be the

aggressor with cyberbullying. Having a positive family unit and having learned the ability to deal

with conflict and stress have positive effects on the students, reducing the rate of cyberbullying

or cyber victimization.
CYBERBULLYING 5

Coelho and Romao (2018) investigate the involvement in bullying of middle school

students, and whether class level, social anxiety, and social withdrawal variables affected the

likelihood to be involved in bullying. Unlike other studies, this one researched both traditional,

in-person bullying and cyberbullying. Interestingly, 52.4% of students who were the aggressor

participated in both traditional bullying and cyberbullying, but only 32.7% of victims of bullying

had been bullied both traditionally and via technology. All of the students involved in bullying,

no matter which side they were on, had higher level of social withdrawal, with no gender

differences, but females reported more social anxiety. There is a direct impact on being the

victim of bullying and having the highest level of social withdrawal, according to this study. In

classrooms with more students, overall students had lower levels of social withdrawal, but the

victims of bullying displayed higher levels of social withdrawal in such classes, which can lead

to increased absenteeism.

In order to find the root causes and effects of cyberbullying, multi-year studies must be

conducted with the same participants. Students through various school levels and maturity levels

from childhood to adolescence, so researchers need to minimize the attrition of these students

(Mishna, McInroy, Daciuk, & Lacombe-Duncan, 2017). After a school-based study of 916

students that lasted three years, the authors share key factors that reduced their attrition rate, such

as strong relationships, and anticipating challenges, in particular utilizing mail-based surveys and

passive consent.

With the implementation of passive consent, response rates are generally over 80%, with

non-participation being a product of absenteeism rather than refusal. When utilizing passive

consent in a school setting, especially with minors, the ethical concerns may outweigh the

practical benefits, especially since recent research has found that active consent for students in a
CYBERBULLYING 6

school setting is rather effective, especially with student delivery of the consent information.

Distribution and/or collection of surveys via traditional mail was also found effective because of

the ability to reach a large and diverse population, and completing can be done at the

participant’s leisure. A key is to include a pre-addressed return envelope along with follow-up

reminders. Overall, researchers need to be willing, able, and read to adjust to delivery of their

questionnaires in a way that best suit the target participants.

Conclusion

Bullying has been around for many years, but it is in the past 10 years that cyberbullying

has become a concern. Because of the lack of visibility of cyberbullying, whereas before parents,

teachers, or neighborhood people could see bullying, it is having profound effects on the youth

of today. All educational and community stakeholders need to be aware of the signs of

cyberbullying, and parents need to be cognizant of their children’s online activities, via their

computers and their phones. Without appropriate knowledge and intervention, this bullying will

continue and have a greater effect on our society in the future.

CYBERBULLYING 7

References

Batool, S., Yousaf, R., & Batool, F. (2017). Bullying in social media: An effect study of

cyberbullying on the youth. Pakistan Journal of Criminology, 9(4), 119-139.

Bingol, T. Y. (2018). Determining the predictors of self-efficacy and cyber bullying.

International Journal of Higher Education, 7(2), 138-143. doi:10.5430/ijhe.v7n2p138

Coelho, V. A. & Romao, A. M. (2018). The relation between social anxiety, social withdrawal,

and (cyber) bullying roles: A multilevel analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 86,

218-226. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.048

Lee, Y., & Wu, W. (2018). Factors in cyber bullying: the attitude-social influence-efficacy

model. Anales de Psicologia, 34(2), 324-331. doi: 10.6018/analesps.34.2.295411

Mishna, F., McInroy, L. B., Daciuk, J., Lacombe-Duncan, A. (2017). Adapting to attrition

challenges in multi-year studies: Examples from a school-based bullying and cyber

bullying study. Children and Youth Services Review, 81, 268-271.