Cyberbullying Misdirected Frustrations Lead to Bullying Others

Cyberbullying Proposal

Bullying is not a new phenomenon. Yet, today's teens and children have to deal with an entirely new type of bullying online that is often more persuasive and even more harmful. The effects of cyberbullying are well documented. However, the reasons why so many youths today turn towards bullying each other online are often left of the discourse. In order to have so many victims, it is clear there are also a lot of aggressors. This research aims to explore the reasons behind some children turning to incidences of bullying others. It explores the problem through general strain theory, which essentially suggests that bullies themselves are victims of strain and thus take out their negative aggressions through bullying. Using a self reported survey with a Likert scale, this research aims to add more to the growing body of research suggesting why kids turn to cyberbullying.

Statement of the Problem

As stated previously, bullying is not a new phenomenon. However, cyberbullying is quickly becoming a major problem among today's youth. Unfortunately, "experts have speculated that the potential harm from cyberbullying is greater than that from conventional bullying" (Bauman & Newman, 2012, p 27). The risk of exposure and prominence is often greater in cyberbullying when compared to traditional bullying. Cyberbullying does not end with high school, but can continue on well into young adulthood and beyond (Bauman & Newman, 2012). It is clear that cyberbullying has dangerous consequences. Too many teens have taken the bullying too much to heart, causing depression, violence in retaliation, and even suicide (Kopko, 2006). Most programs in schools today focus on punishing bullying as a way to prevent individuals from indulging in it again (Roland et al., 2010). Yet, this does not stop the act from its source. Part of what makes cyberbullying so prevalent is its ability to entire into every aspects of children's lives. Thus, "the indirect nature of cyberbullying makes it difficult to evaluate the intentional or reactice nature of the attack" (Menesini & Nocentini, 2009). Still, very few studies have tried to correlate bullying as it relates to the bullies feeling strain and then taking it out on others around them (Patchin & Hinduja, 2011). Therefore, programs working to prevent cyberbullying are limited as to how much bullying they can actually prevent.

Purpose of the Study

The overall purpose of the study is to help strengthen counseling programs to prevent bullying by attacking the source. The bullies also need attention, and thus it is clearly important "to preempt youth from attempting to reconcile strainful circumstances and negative emotions in unconstructive or deviant manners" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 2). This study will help provide information as to why children turn to bullying behavior online, which can then be used to augment programs hindering bullying from impacting the lives of children all over the globe. The findings of this study can help generate models for emotional self-management therapy and counseling to reduce the likelihood the strained child will negative react by cyberbullying others around them. Unfortunately, "interpersonal aggression remains a significant issue as youth navigate the difficult waters of their formative years" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 2). As such, it is important for programs directed at preventing bullying really understand the source. This results in the following research question: Are children who are under high levels of strain more likely to turn to cyberbullying to release their frustrations?

There are a number of preventative programs that could benefit from answering this question. For example, Norway has introduced a zero tolerance against bullying, both traditional and cyberbullying within its schools that has resulted in clear drops in bullying incidents (Roland et al., 2010). Further developments in counseling can augment on this success by attacking the problem at its roots and try to reduce acts of bullying before they start, not from a stance of fear, but through counseling methods to help teens and children relieve stress and anxiety before they can take it out negatively on other youth.

Brief Literature Review

There is a growing body of literature on cyberbullying as it continues to become more and more of a problem. Just a few years ago, the body of literature was limited to some magazine articles and documentaries. As the problem has intensified, so has the scholarly approach to understand it. Thus, today there is a wealth of scholarly study on the subject. The research suggests that "online harassment was defined as an intentional and overt act of aggression toward another person online" (Gradinger, Strohmeier, & Speil, 2009, p 205). Cyberbullying includes the use of all forms of devices, including online platforms, social media, messaging services, texts, and pagers (Kopko, 2006). Over 5% of students report being bullied in some form each week (Roland et al., 2010). Teens and children all over the world are being cyberbullied in record numbers. In fact, one report suggests that "one-third of all teens (ages 12 to 17) and one-sixth of children ages six to 11 said they have had mean, threatening or embarrassing things said about them online" (Kopko, 2006, p 28). Often times, the bullying includes the threat of physical harm as well. There are more male cyberbullies than females overall (Gradinger, Strohmeier, & Speil, 2009). In fact, the research suggested for future studies to pay closer attention to the gender patterns within cyberbullying in order to better extrapolate the nature of the aggression found online. Females are much more distressed by acts of cyberbullying than males (Bauman & Newman, 2012).

There is extensive research on the victims of cyberbullying, yet there are major gaps within the current discourse regarding the nature of the behavior of the bullies themselves. This results in much more harmful bullying. Here, the research describes the issue that "cyberbullying may mot be uniformly more harmful than other types of bullying" (Bauman & Newman, 2012, p 27). This leaves open a number of questions as to why so many kids turn to cyberbullying. Clearly there are a lot of cyberbullies, as there are a rapidly increasing number of cyberbullying victims around the globe (Kopko, 2006). Cyberbullying "can be even more detrimental to youth because: 910 bullies can be anonymous, (2) victims are accessible 24/7, (3) it is often easier to be cruel when corresponding electronically due to the physical distance, and (4) victims feel helpless in responding the threats as they perceive adults ill-equipped to assist them" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 1). The nature of how bullies can attack their victims makes cyberbullying much more prevalent. Bullies can sit back behind their computers and anonymously attack their victims with ease, and often without punishment. Unfortunately, "indirect bullying is more harmful than direct bullying" (Bauman & Newman, 2012, p 28). When there is less potential for punishment, many teens and children are more likely to be more antagonistic towards the victims of their aggression. As such, "the perception of anonymity may create an online disinhibition effect which reduces the usual social sanctions against cruelty. And results in more hurtful comments" (Bauman & Newman, 2012, p 28). Clearly, there are major differences between normal bullying and cyberbullying. Still, the types of bullying going on online are very similar to what has been done for generations in person. Name calling, threatening, and embarrassment are all elements the two types of bullying share according to the research. Bauman and Newman (2012) suggest that "cyber and conventional forms of individual incidents were seen as more similar than different" (33).

In Robert Agnew's General Strain Theory, people turn to crime or deviant actions because of increased strain on themselves after being unable to achieve goals set aside as desirable by the larger society. As such, when some children are put under too much strain for whatever reason, they become more likely to misdirect that frustration by using cyberbullying other individuals to release their tension. General strain theory "argues that individuals who experience strain, and as a result of that strain feel angry or frustrated, are more at risk to engage in criminal or deviant behavior" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 1). When individuals feel strain, they feel a growing sense of frustration as well that can make them anxious or depressed. According to the research, individuals under such strain will turn to a variety of corrective measures to take the pressure off of themselves. Thus, "bullying others -- whether in person or online -- is one such corrective action strained youth might adopt" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 1).

Hinduja and Patchin (2010) bring up the fact that several studies have shown bullying as correlating or other deviant behaviors, like criminal activities, vandalism, and truancy, which have also been linked to adolescent youths under a significant amount of stress, either at home or at school. Their research suggests that children who are more frustrated or under greater stress tend to be more active in cyberbullying. Essentially, as the stress increases on an already frustrated child, that child is more likely to turn to cyberbullying other children in order to vent their frustrations. Many teens and younger kids "may engage in bullying behaviors (both traditional and nontraditional) as a response to strainful life events ad the negative emotions that they produce" (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010, p 1). The bullying itself becomes a misguided relief for their own frustrations. Children with increased levels of stress and strain thus use negative strategies to release their stress through the bullying of others.

Therefore, bullying becomes a behavior of survival. The research suggests that "almost all cyberbullies were also traditional bullies and nearly all cybervictims were traditional victims" (Gradinger, Strohmeier, & Speil, 2009, p 205). Essentially, this shows a correlation between the stresses of being bullied with the release of bullying others. Roland et al. (2010) made clear connections between mental health and reaction and involvement in bullying. Essentially, victims and aggressors tend to show "inferior mental health compared to peers" (Roland et al., 2010, p 42). Cyberbullying is thus related to social anxiety. There is some overlapping bullying shown within the context of the study (Gradinger, Strohmeier, & Speil, 2009). In fact, there were several signals that showed clear aggressive tendencies on behalf of bullies, both in real life and online. Both victims and cyberbullies themselves report signs of frustration involved with the actual acts of bullying (Bauman & Newman, 2012). Victims of cyberbullying have been shown to be bullies themselves, further correlating the notion that increased strain is related to increased participation in bullying. Clearly, there is "an overlap between cyberbullying and cybervictimization" (Schultze-Krumbholz & Scheithauer, 2009, p 225). This overlap also augments the concept that added strain could be the source of cyberbullying. Patchin and Hinduja (2011) surveyed 2,000 participants, selected randomly, from middle schools at the largest facilities across the United States.

According to this study, there was a clear correlation between increased levels of strain and the actual act of bullying. Patchin and Hinduja (2011) suggest that "youth who experienced strain or anger and frustration were more likely to bully others than those who had not experienced strain or anger / frustration" (749).

Methodology

This current research will use a methodology that focuses on surveying individuals to see where their bullying behavior actually comes form. The method will focus on the frequency of cyberbullying, method of bullying, and any overlapping correlation to incidences that would cause the bullies strain. Past research has often overlooked this concept, or conducted research that cannot stand external and internal validity tests. Unfortunately, "researchers often do not report psychometric properties of measures, but often analyze items as though they were separate constructs" (Bauman & Newman, 2012, p 28). The notion of bullying is often a very hard concept to study because many participants do not want to admit they engage in the practice.

Prior research did provide the participants with a clear definition of cyberbullying before they allowed participants to answer the questionnaire, but used self-report measures which may have skewed results. Self report measures are often not as reliable as researchers would hope. Despite their prevalence within cyberbullying research, it is clear that bias often permeates into the responses of potential cyberbullies as they describe the nature of their behaviors online (Bauman & Newman, 2012). This does make tracking reasoning behind cyberbullying quite difficult for modern researchers.