Copying Strategies Of Adolescent Behaviour In Cases Of Internet-Spam (Cyberbullying)

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a relatively new but very relevant research topic in psychology abroad as well as in Russia. The problem of cyberbullying has arisen as a result of online communications (social media, emails and instant messages, online gaming, blogs, online diaries, video channels, etc.) that are extremely prevalent amongst today's youth. The purpose of the article is to study the coping strategies of young people suffering from cyberbullying. The main methods of our research were theoretical analysis of psychological research literature and also empirical research methods with the use of psychodiagnostic methods (psychosocial questionnaire, developed by the Fund for the Internet Development; Kulakov's test for assessing children's internet addiction; Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory; Lazarus's questionnaire for assessing coping strategies), and methods of statistics data analysis.In this article we demonstrate that the intensity of cyberbullying is not determined by the amount of time spent by adolescents online and it does not depend on whether or not adolescents are addicted to the Internet. We found that adolescents affected by cyberbullying cannot effectively use appropriate copying strategies in order to overcome their online difficulties. Adolescents choosing non-adaptive coping strategies leads to the rise of their aggression levels. If adolescents seek help it can decrease the level of their physical and indirect aggression.The materials of this article represent practical value for specialists working with young people and interested in organising thematic sessions aimed at preventing cyberbullying among adolescents.