Psychological Impact of Cyberbully Victimization among College Students

With the growth of technology, bullying has expanded into the technological realm. Labeled cyberbullying, individuals are utilizing technology, such as cell phones and the Internet, to bully and harass others with the intention of causing harm. Most cyberbullying research has been conducted with elementary, middle, and high school-aged students in countries such as Finland, Canada, Taiwan, and Australia. The purpose of this study was to expand prevalence, psychological impact, and coping strategy research with college-student victims of cyberbullying in the United States. 799 college students from a mid-Atlantic university were surveyed via the Internet. It was found that 8.6% of that sample endorsed being a victim of cyberbullying; 8.7% of females and 8.4% of males. On the Symptom Checklist-90-R, the 69 victims were higher than 69 matched control participants in depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, and paranoia, as well as were elevated on global severity index and positive symptom distress index scales. Victims endorsed frequently experiencing emotional consequences, such as feeling frustrated, stressed, sad/hurt, or angry. Victims had significantly more suicidal planning and attempts, as well as suicidal ideations. They also more frequently threatened suicide than control participants. In response to cyberbully victimization, female and male victims both told someone they were being victimized, avoided friends or peers, got revenge, and stopped going to events they once enjoyed. Female victims more frequently avoided Internet/cell phones and males more frequently drank alcohol/used illegal drugs as a result of their victimization. The results of this study indicated that cyberbullying is occurring in a college sample and having a negative impact upon victims

Creating a Digital Community in Colleges Through an Interactive Theater Intervention: Guidelines for Cyberbullying Prevention During Freshmen Orientation Week

Creating a Digital Community in Colleges Through an Interactive Theater Interventio

Prevalence of Cyberbullying among Traditional Undergraduate Students Attending Faith-Based Universities: A Causal-Comparative Study

Cyberbullying among traditional undergraduate students is a relatively new issue that involves the safety of postsecondary students. The purpose of this study was to provide statistical data to faith-based universities that relate the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization experiences and the prevalence of cyberbullying offending experiences of traditional undergraduate students to biological gender (female/male) and level of religiosity (higher/lower), and to add to the small body of research conducted among this demographic. In this quantitative, causal-comparative study, traditional undergraduate students were recruited from two faith-based universities in the southern United States. Level of religiosity and cyberbullying prevalence were determined through responses to an anonymous, online survey using the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and the Cyberbullying and Online Aggression Survey (COAS), respectively. The researcher utilized two separate two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyze the data. The study had 284 participants that included 180 female students and 104 male students. Findings indicated that gender and level of religiosity did not have a significant effect on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences scores among traditional undergraduate students attending faith-based universities. The results contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences among university students. Future research on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences among university students could include comparing secular and faith-based universities and investigating cyberbullying prevalence at faith-based universities in different parts of the United States

A Holistic Overview of Cyberbullying across the World: Review of Theories and Models

This chapter reviews cyberbullying research from across the world. Not only it is important to be familiar with the range of impact and risks that commonly fall upon cyber victims, but much can be learned when reviewing a myriad of research focused on the bullies themselves. In addition to that, it provides some theoretical discussion for other researchers who wish to study cyberbullying through a specific lens that may help standardize the research and better understand what is truly happening behind the screens. This chapter also explores how those involved with cyber aggressive behaviors choose to cope, whether positively or negatively. In depth, this chapter explores cyberbullies in hopes of creating more awareness of signs for parents or educators that may be able to prevent perpetration or targeting

Keyboard gangsters: the prevalence of cyberbullying in high school and college students and the relationship with negative mental health outcomes - a targeted literature review

Background. Cyberbullying is becoming a public health problem due to its association with negative health outcomes, such as depression and suicidal ideation or attempts. While researchers have studied these problems in high school and college students separately, few studies directly compare these age groups. The primary objectives of this study were to conduct a literature review on the prevalence of cyberbullying and its association with depression and suicide. A secondary objective was to compare the results for high school and college students in the United States and Canada. Methods. PubMed and PsychInfo were used to identify studies that met specific inclusion criteria for this review. Each study was given a quality score based on the STROBE guidelines for observational studies, Results. Of 239 identified studies, 20 met all inclusion criteria. The prevalence of cyberbullying in high school and college was 25.2% and 21.4%, respectively. Both high school and college students who had experienced cyberbullying had about 2 to 3 times more risk for developing depression and suicidal thoughts, planning, and attempts when compared to students not involved in cyberbullying. The quality of the studies included was high, averaging 18 points out of 22 points based on the STROBE guidelines. Conclusion. According to published literature, about one fourth of high school and college students have experienced cyberbullying. It would be valuable for further interventions in the public health field to reduce the prevalence of cyberbullying and to reduce the likelihood that those involved in cyberbullying develop emotional distress

Cyberbullying: The hidden side of college students

The purpose of this study was to investigate how university students perceive their involvement in the cyberbullying phenomenon, and its impact on their well-being. Thus, this study presents a preliminary approach of how college students’ perceived involvement in acts of cyberbullying can be measured. Firstly, Exploratory Factor Analysis (N = 349) revealed a unidimensional structure of the four scales included in the Cyberbullying Inventory for College Students. Then, Item Response Theory (N = 170) was used to analyze the unidimensionality of each scale and the interactions between participants and items. Results revealed good item reliability and Cronbach’s α for each scale. Results also showed the potential of the instrument and how college students underrated their involvement in acts of cyberbullying. Additionally, aggression types, coping strategies and sources of help to deal with cyberbullying were identified and discussed. Lastly, age, gender and course-related issues were considered in the analysis. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed

Just married: the synergy between feminist criminology and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework

This article is a theoretical treatment of feminist epistemology of crime, which advocates the centrality of gender as a theoretical starting point for the investigating of digital crimes. It does so by exploring the synergy between the feminist perspectives and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) (which argues that three possible factors motivate cybercrimes – socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geopolitical) to critique mainstream criminology and the meaning of the term “cybercrime”. Additionally, the article examines gender gaps in online harassment, cyber‐bullying, cyber‐fraud, revenge porn, and cyber‐stalking to demonstrate that who is victimised, why, and to what effect are the critical starting points for the analysis of the connections between gender and crimes. In turn, it uses the lens of intersectionality to acknowledge that, while conceptions of gender and crime interact, they intersect with other categories (e.g., sexuality) to provide additional layers of explanation. To nuance the utilitarian value of the synergy between the TCF and the feminist perspectives, the focus shifts to a recent case study (which compared socioeconomic and psychosocial cybercrimes). The article concludes that, while online and offline lives are inextricably intertwined, the victimisations in psychosocial cybercrimes may be more gendered than in socioeconomic cybercrimes. These contributions align the TCF to the feminist epistemology of crime in their attempt to move gender analysis of digital crimes “from margin to centre”