Adolescents' Media Exposure May Increase Their Cyberbullying Behavior: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

A B S T R A C TPurpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of adolescents' exposure to media portraying antisocial and risk behavior on cyberbullying behavior over time. Previous research established relatively high prevalence of cyberbullying behavior among adolescents, although not much is known about the possible predictors of cyberbullying behavior. This study examines the long-term effects of media exposure herein. Furthermore, we examined whether boys and girls differ in this respect. Methods: The long-term effects were tested in a longitudinal design with three waves (N ¼ 1,005; age range, 11e17 years; 49% boys). Measured variables: cyberbullying behavior and exposure to media with antisocial and risk behavior content. Results: Results of mixed-model analyses showed that higher levels of exposure to media with antisocial and risk behavior content significantly contributed to higher initial rates of cyberbullying behavior. Moreover, an increase in exposure to antisocial media content was significantly related to an increase in cyberbullying behavior over time. For both boys and girls, higher exposure to antisocial and risk behavior media content increases cyberbullying behavior over time though more clearly for boys than for girls. Conclusions: This study provided empirical support for the amplifying effect of exposure to antisocial media content on adolescents' cyberbullying behavior over time. Results are discussed in view of adolescents' media use and the larger theoretical framework.Ó 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved. IMPLICATIONS AND CONTRIBUTIONThis study contributes to the better understanding of the long-term effects of media exposure on cyberbullying behavior. An increase in exposure to media with antisocial and risk behavior content relates to an increase in cyberbullying behavior over time. Continued research is needed to examine which adolescents are especially prone.Cyberbullying behavior received much research attention over the past few years, likely because of the prevalence of cyberbullying incidents reported in the media with severe consequences (e.g., see special journal issues about cyberbullying) [1,2]. Research shows that cyberbullying negatively affects adolescents' self-esteem, academic performances, and suicidal ideation among others [3e7]. Although not much is known about possible predictors of cyberbullying behavior, previous research showed that one such factor is media exposure. Former studies found significant relationships between exposure to media with violent content and face-to-face bullying as well as cyberbullying [8e13]. Recent research included a broader scope of antisocial media exposure, including not only violence portrayals but also other types of antisocial and risk behavior content such as stealing, substance abuse, and sexual intimidation, to be related to cyberbullying behavior [14]. However, to our knowledge, no research exists thus far that examined the longer term relationships between exposure to antisocial m...

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