Factors Affecting Adolescents' Involvement in Cyberbullying: What Divides the 20% from the 80%?

Abstract

Despite some variations among cyberbullying studies, about 20% of the youth population surveyed appears to be involved in cyberbullying. Coincidentally, the current study found that exactly 20% of the students surveyed were involved in cyberbullying as bullies (7.8%), victims (7.5%), and bully/victims (4.7%). What divides those 20% from the 80% of noninvolved students? This study aimed to produce a parsimonious and accurate model that can predict the occurrence of involvement in cyberbullying among youth. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey administered to 1,036 students enrolled in secondary schools in South Korea. Stepwise logistic regression (SLR) was carried out to predict the dichotomous dependent variable (involved/noninvolved) with 10 independent variables grouped into three categories: (a) demographic, (b) media-related, and (c) school and psychology factors. The result of the SLR analysis yielded a four-step model including the variables of cyber-confidence, weekday game time, mobile activities, and age as being significant in explaining the 20/80 division (model χ(2)=34.306, df=4, p<0.001, Nagelkerke R(2)=0.071). This finding suggests that younger students who spend more time playing games on weekdays while being more confident in cyberspace and active in using mobile phones are more likely to be involved in cyberbullying than other students. In particular, the construct of cyber-confidence calls for further elaboration and research, given its controversial function with respect to adolescents' involvement in cyberbullying. Also, this study may bring about insights into practical considerations needed for concerned researchers, teachers, and parents to identify who is inside the group involved in cyberbullying so as to help the participating adolescents escape from the circle of cyberbullying.

Associations between social media and cyberbullying: a review of the literature

“…Furthermore, there was a significant degree of variability in the nature of the questions posed by the study authors. For example, some researchers focused their questions on negative comments to postings (21), some focused on the media that was used (22), others focused on the number of cyberbullying incidents during a particular time period (23), and still others focused on the emotional impact of the interaction (24,25). This suggests the need for a standardized set of questions that focuses on content and disregards platform.…”

Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the susceptibility to cyberbullying in India?

“…A study showed that 20% of the youth population surveyed was involved in cyberbullying either as a victim, a bully, or both. The study further showed that younger students who spent more time playing games on weekdays while being more confident in cyberspace and active in using mobile phones are more likely to be involved in cyberbullying than other students ( Shin and Ahn, 2015 ). Another study revealed that Facebook and text messaging were the most frequent mediums for cyberbullying and that sexual-minority students and students who texted at least 50 times per day were more likely to report cyberbullying victimization ( Rice et al., 2015 ).…”

Relationship between Emotional Intelligence, Cybervictimization, and Academic Performance in Secondary School Students

“…Loneliness is also associated with increased use of the internet and the problematic use of smartphones [28,29]. Adolescents who are victims of bullying try to find virtual friends in order to obtain emotional support to alleviate negative moods associated with loneliness, which can likely lead to greater risks of cyber abuse [30].…”