The correlation between in-school bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents

¶ … Bullying Extend Beyond School Grounds?

Various studies conclude that bullying has various forms, such as physical, verbal, relationship, and now a new form is added that includes cyberbullying. All forms of bullying affect the adolescent both psychologically and academically. In the study conducted by Juvonen and Gross, two hypotheses were conclusive that when controlling for the time spent online (ie, opportunity to get targeted), repeated school-based bullying experiences would increase the probability of becoming a target of repeated online bullying. Additionally, an overlap among targets of, and the similarities between, online and in-school bullying exists among Internet-using adolescents. With the prevalence of cyberbullying, the schools need to take responsibility to address such a serious issue. Enforcing tolerance and training may ameliorate the issue and encourage sensitivity. Therefore, the ever-pressing challenge is the prevention and intervention efforts that require 360-degree approach: families, students, schools, and the community.

Research Analysis: Does Bullying Extend Beyond School Grounds?

Research Problem:

The research questions posed are the following:

1. Does the use -- or relatively heavy use -- of any specific electronic tool or communication method (eg, IM, chat rooms) might place youth at additional risk for repeated online victimization?

2. Is there distress associated with cyberbullying?

3. How prevalent is the anonymity of online harassment?

4. Is there a correlation between in-school bullying and cyberbullying, whereby harassment extends beyond the school grounds?

5. Why is there a low frequency of reporting incidents to adults?

6. What methods afforded by electronic communication technology (eg, switching screen names or blocking someone from a buddy list) are used to prevent further online intimidation?

Two-Fold Hypotheses:

1. When controlling for the time spent online (ie, opportunity to get targeted), repeated school-based bullying experiences would increase the probability of becoming a target of repeated online bullying.

2. An overlap among targets of, and the similarities between, online and in-school bullying exists among Internet-using adolescents.

Literature Review / Theoretical Framework:

The field of knowledge addresses the educational arena. Hence, this study investigates the relationship of in-school bullying and cyberbullying among Internet-using adolescents between the ages of 12-17. The purpose of the research is to analyze the overlap or correlation of bullying extending the beyond the school campus. From the literature review, four key points and the cited studies that support the subject are as follows:

Key Point 1: Bullying entails emotional or physical intimidation is associated with a number of mental health problems and is considered a major public health concern facing youth.

Cited Study: Nansel TR, Overpeck M, Pilla RS, Ruan WJ, Simons-Morton B, Scheidt P. Bullying behaviors among U.S. youth: prevalence and association with psychosocial adjustment. JAMA. 2001; 285: 2094-2100.

Juvonen J, Graham S, Schuster MA. Bullying among young adolescents: the strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics. 2003; 112:1231-1237.

Key Point 2: Approximately one third of the victims of cyberbullying were threatened or embarrassed because information was sent or posted about them to others. Hence, at least some cyberbullying tactics capitalize on the particular features of online communication technology. Additionally, steep increase in reported incidents across the past five years documented in the latest Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS-210) is a reason for concern.

Cite Study: Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJ, Wolak J, Finkelhor D. Examining characteristics and associated distress related to Internet harassment: findings from the second Youth Internet Survey. Pediatrics. 2006; 118:1169-1177.

Key Point 3: Youth can avoid receiving messages from alleged bullies by blocking their screen names or restricting their buddy lists to their closest friends. Study demonstrated that a majority of youth appears to be familiar with these tactics that ought to reduce or stop persistent harassment.

Cited Study: Li Q. New bottle but old wine: a research of cyberbullying in schools. Comput Human Behav. 2007; 23:1777-1791.

Key Point 4: Surprisingly, research indicated that one third of the seventh graders were bullied both at school and online, whereas one quarter reported having experienced bullying only online (and more than half of the respondents reported having been bullied only at school). The possible connection between bullying experiences in school and online is consistent with data showing that when most schoolmates have Internet access at home, electronic communication is conducted largely within school-based peer networks.

Cited Study: Gross EF Adolescent Internet use: what we expect, what teens report. J Appl Dev Psychol. 2004; 25:633-649.

Livingstone S. Children use of the Internet: reflections on the emerging research agenda. New Media and Society. 2003; 5:

Research Design:

Research design was based on correlational factors involving experimental quantitative statistical analysis. Targeted participants ranged from ages 12-17. Additionally, participants were introduced to an electronic survey on a popular teen Web site called Bolt in which an incentive was offered to induce participation, such as a raffle for an iPod or gift card. Through this Web site, data was collected from August through October 2005. In conducting an electronic survey, parental consent was not necessary, participants could participate anonymously, or they terminate the survey without any repercussions. Discounting incomplete surveys, data from a final sample of 1,454 participants was collected. Subsequently, data was analyzed using chi-square tests because 15- to 17-year-old girls were overrepresented. Participants' Internet use and experience were analyzed by age and sex, which necessitated this analysis method. Rates of reported school-based and online bullying incidents and their overlap are also assessed by relying on chi-square statistics. To be able to examine risk factors for repeated cyberbullying, odds ratios are computed through logistic regression analyses. The associations between social anxiety and school-based, as well as online bullying are tested by relying on hierarchical regression analyses.

Findings:

Results section is divided into 4 main sections:

Risks associated with repeated cyberbullying

Heavy Internet use dramatically increased the likelihood of repeated online intimidation. When controlling for Internet use, repeated school-based bullying experiences (seven or more times during the past year) increased the likelihood of cyberbullying almost 7-fold.

Assumptions about cyberbullying

Online experiences of bullying are associated with elevated levels of distress similar to encounters of bullying encountered in school. About half of the participants (51%) reported experiencing online bullying by a schoolmate. Interestingly, the site designated for retaliation was school, not cyberspace. Additionally, most youth did not tell adults about cyberbullying incidents.

Prevention tactics

Blocking a particular screen name was the most common tactic used.

Limitations:

In comparing results to similar studies, discrepancies exist because of varying classification of certain variables. A consistent definition of what constitutes a heavy Internet usage is inconclusive. Additionally, participants were based on individuals who were enticed to participate based on an incentive to complete the survey; hence, sampling integrity was compromised. Chiefly, outcomes cannot be representative or generalize for an entire target population.

Implications for Practice:

Bullying has various forms, such as physical, verbal, relationship, and now a new form is added that includes cyberbullying. All forms of bullying affect the adolescent both psychologically and academically. With the prevalence of cyberbullying, the schools need to take responsibility to address such a serious issue that may have tragic consequences, such as suicide. Enforcing tolerance and training may ameliorate the issue and encourage sensitivity. Therefore, the ever-pressing challenge is the prevention and intervention efforts that require

360-degree approach: families, students, schools, and the community.