Cyberbullying

This chapter includes a literature review of the studies on cyberbullying in the last quarter century. In this direction, firstly, key concepts related to cyberbullying are explained in order to create a substructure for the understanding of the concept. Then, the concept of traditional bullying is explained within a conceptual evaluation. The concept of cyberbullying has been evaluated in detail with its definition, basic features, reasons, tools, types, and roles. A comparison was made between bullying and cyberbullying, and similarities and differences were revealed. Finally, a general conclusion was made based on the results of the research conducted around the world in the last quarter. The results reveal that cyberbullying is an increasing problem and is spreading uncertainly in almost every country.

Exploring Cyber-Bullying: a Retrospective Study of First Year University Students

<p>This was a retrospective study of cyber-bullying. Students enrolled in a first year course were selected to provide opinions on the issue of cyber-bullying as it pertained to social networking sites and young people. A mixed methods approach was applied to this study. Questionnaires provided quantitative data, and a focus group provided data for qualitative analysis. It was evident that students felt that cyber-bullying was not as prevalent as traditional bullying; however, it was identified as a serious issue. In relation to gender, traditional bullying was considered to be a problem for boys, more than cyber-bullying, whereas for girls cyber-bullying was considered to be a problem, more than traditional bullying. Social networking sites, solely, were not common tools used in cyber-bullying. Generally cell phones or a combination of cell phones and social networking sites were used. It was determined the age group at most risk from cyber-bullying to be early high school. Raising awareness of cyber-bullying was considered essential for prevention.</p>

Exploring Cyber-Bullying: a Retrospective Study of First Year University Students

<p>This was a retrospective study of cyber-bullying. Students enrolled in a first year course were selected to provide opinions on the issue of cyber-bullying as it pertained to social networking sites and young people. A mixed methods approach was applied to this study. Questionnaires provided quantitative data, and a focus group provided data for qualitative analysis. It was evident that students felt that cyber-bullying was not as prevalent as traditional bullying; however, it was identified as a serious issue. In relation to gender, traditional bullying was considered to be a problem for boys, more than cyber-bullying, whereas for girls cyber-bullying was considered to be a problem, more than traditional bullying. Social networking sites, solely, were not common tools used in cyber-bullying. Generally cell phones or a combination of cell phones and social networking sites were used. It was determined the age group at most risk from cyber-bullying to be early high school. Raising awareness of cyber-bullying was considered essential for prevention.</p>

Do Negative Emotions Matter? Paths From Victimization to Cyber and Traditional Bullying From a General Strain Theory Perspective

Drawing on theoretical propositions of general strain theory (GST), the current study aims to examine whether general victimization as a source of criminogenic strain predicts two different types of bullying, traditional and cyberbullying perpetrations, and whether negative emotionality, such as trait-based anger and depression, conditions the effects of general victimization on bullying. Using a Korean adolescent sample, we adopt cross-lagged dynamic panel models to investigate the longitudinal effects and interactions of strain and negative emotionality. The results indicate a significant influence of general victimization on both types of bullying perpetrations, as expected, while the conditioning effects of negative emotionality are found only for traditional bullying, which may reflect differences in the nature of the two different forms of bullying.

Criminological characteristics of cyberbullying and its types

The article clarifies that there is no stable scientific and legislative definition of cyberbullying. It is proposed to consider that cyberbullying is a violent actions of participants in the educational process using electronic communications against a minor or such a person, causing interference in the educational process, significant non-compliance with school discipline, violation of the rights of participants in the educational process or caused them moral, physical, mental or material damage. It was found that cyberbullying is a subspecies of traditional bullying, but has specific properties: anonymity of the attacker; the victim and the offender located in different physical spaces; lack of time frame; the possibility of exponential growth of the audience; reusability. In addition, the article provides examples from domestic case law. The basic and derivative types of cyberbullying and their short criminological characteristics are given. An attempt has been made to structure these types of cyberbullying. The article also briefly analyzes the statistical indicators of various manifestations of cyberbullying in Ukraine. Finally, current global trends in liability for certain types of Internet abuse, such as such as harassment, cyberstalking, grooming, sexting and denigration, are also briefly analyzed.

Aggression, Moral Disengagement and Empathy. A Longitudinal Study Within the Interpersonal Dynamics of Bullying

Moral disengagement and empathy have been linked to aggression in traditional bullying. A number of longitudinal studies have focused on how these variables predict aggressive behavior within the dynamics of bullying. However, no conclusive results have been produced as to whether aggressive behavior in bullying can predict lower levels of empathy, and to date, no studies have explored in depth the mediating role of moral disengagement strategies in this relationship, which is the aim of this study. A total of 1,810 students (51.0% girls; Mage = 14.50; SD = 1.05) completed a survey in three waves at 6-month intervals. The results showed that aggressive behavior in bullying at Time 1 was inversely related to affective and cognitive empathy at Time 3. Minimization of responsibility, distortion of consequences and dehumanizing mediated in the aggressive behavior exhibited by the bullying aggressors and in cognitive empathy, while cognitive restructuring and the distortion of consequences mediated in affective empathy. We discuss the impact on moral and emotional sensitivity of the continued aggression occurring in the interpersonal dynamics of bullying, as well as the relationship between certain strategies of moral disengagement and the different types of empathy. We also comment on the need to design intervention programs to address the lowering of moral criteria and empathy in young people and adolescents involved in traditional bullying.