Potential personality traits that explain cyberbullying among youth in Malaysia

This study aims to produce a comprehensive understanding on cyberbullying among youth from the perspective of personality traits. The conceptual understanding on cyberbullying was gained by analysing available documents and literature. Several personality traits namely loneliness, self-esteem and empathy were found to influence cyberbullying among youth. Additionally, cyber victim experience was found to be another influential factor for cyberbullying. This article attempts to provide a way forward and highlight the need for concerned parties to understand cyberbullying among youth in Malaysia

Predictors of cyberbullying among Malaysian youth

Cyberbullying has emerged of late as a serious issue, especially among the most active internet users in Malaysia – youths. As the number of related studies is still lacking, the present study aims to determine the predictors of cyberbullying among youths in Malaysia. The study is quantitative in nature and in total had involved 400 youths aged between 18 to 40 years old. The findings suggest that predictors such as age, loneliness, self-esteem, and empathy yielded significant relationship with cyberbullying, while males were predominantly reported to perpetrate cyberbullying than females. Several recommendations were highlighted and hopefully, it can assist any concerned parties in developing concrete strategies to reduce cyberbullying cases among youths in Malaysia further

Who are the victims of cyberbullying? Preliminary data towards validation of "cyberbullying victim questionnaire”

In the literature there are more and more works dealing with cyberbullying and adolescents’ perception of this phenomenon. In particular, we are interested in cyberbullying and the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent life. What is more, in 2020 the impact of COVID-19 has increased the digital presence of cyberbullying behaviours. This phenomenon is extremely complex, since it is multicomponential and multifactorial, and many components act on it. Starting with an analysis of the literature, this work offers preliminary data towards the validation of a self-reporting questionnaire; it was administered to 650 adolescents, to evaluate their perceptions of the victims of cyberbullying. The questionnaire consisted of 33 items; Principal Component Analysis was applied, which identified the dimensions resuming the items’ variability. The findings confirmed the multidimensional nature of the issue covered by the questionnaire and highlighted three psychological dimensions: Internalisation, Counterbalance and Marginalisation. The results support the structure of the questionnaire, useful to quickly collect information about adolescents’ perception of cybervictimisation. The assessment of this information might help teachers, educators, and tutors to formulate targeted interventions to combat the spread of cyberbullying aimed for example at improving emotional intelligence, starting from the construction of emotional contagion

Cyberbullying: Exploration Of Impact Of Loneliness And Prior Experience On Psychological Distress

This study explored the potential role of loneliness as a mediator in the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration and psychological distress in a sample of college-age students. It was also hypothesized that prior history of traditional bullying involvement in childhood would moderate the impact of loneliness as a mediator of the relationship between cyberbullying and loneliness. University of Mississippi students (n = 372), primarily females of European descent participated in an online survey. Participants completed measures assessing loneliness, cyberbullying involvement, psychological distress, and past traditional bullying involvement. Few participants reported a history of traditional bullying. As such, a mediation analysis was conducted to assess the relationship between loneliness, cyberbullying involvement, and psychological distress. Results shothat loneliness did not mediate the relationship between cyberbullying involvement and psychological distress. Implications of the study are discussed

Who Are the Victims of Cyberbullying? Preliminary Data Towards Validation of "Cyberbullying Victim Questionnaire”

In the literature there are more and more works dealing with cyberbullying and adolescents’ perception of this phenomenon. In particular, we are interested in cyberbullying and the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent life. What is more, in 2020 the impact of COVID-19 has increased the digital presence of cyberbullying behaviours. This phenomenon is extremely complex, since it is multicomponential and multifactorial, and many components act on it. Starting with an analysis of the literature, this work offers preliminary data towards the validation of a self-reporting questionnaire; it was administered to 650 adolescents, to evaluate their perceptions of the victims of cyberbullying. The questionnaire consisted of 33 items; Principal Component Analysis was applied, which identified the dimensions resuming the items’ variability. The findings confirmed the multidimensional nature of the issue covered by the questionnaire and highlighted three psychological dimensions: Internalisation, Counterbalance and Marginalisation. The resultssupport the structure of the questionnaire, useful to quickly collect information about adolescents’ perception of cybervictimisation. The assessment of this information might help teachers, educators, and tutors to formulate targeted interventions to combat the spread of cyberbullying aimed for example at improving emotional intelligence, starting from the construction of emotional contagion

HUBUNGAN HARGA DIRI DENGAN CYBERBULLYING PADA REMAJA DI SMK KOSGORO 1 PADANG TAHUN 2018

41-50% remaja di Indonesia mengalami cyberbullying. Remaja dengan harga diri rendah lebih mudah menjadi target cyberbullying. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat hubungan antara harga diri dengan cyberbulllying pada remaja di SMK Kosgoro 1 Padang tahun 2018. Jenis penelitian ini adalah analitik dengan pendekatan cross sectional. Penelitian dilaksanakan pada bulan Januari sampai dengan Juli 2018. Sampel penelitian ini berjumlah 114 orang, dipilih dengan teknik proportional random sampling. Pengumpulan data menggunakan dua jenis kuesioner yaitu Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale untuk harga diri dan Revised Cyber Bullying Inventory untuk cyberbullying. Data dianalisis menggunakan uji korelasi Pearson. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan rerata harga diri remaja sebesar 23,07, rerata pelaku cyberbullying sebesar 11,79 dan rerata korban cyberbullying sebesar 9,41. Terdapat hubungan yang bermakna antara harga diri dengan pelaku cyberbullying, p=0,000 kekuatan hubungannya sedang r= -0,606, dengan arah hubungan negatif, juga terdapat hubungan bermakna antara harga diri dengan korban cyberbullying, p=0,000 kekuatan hubungan kuat r= -0,726 dengan arah hubungan negatif. Hubungan harga diri dengan pelaku maupun korban cyberbullying memiliki arah negatif, yang artinya semakin rendah harga diri maka semakin tinggi pelaku maupun korban cyberbullying. Diharapkan perawat dapat bekerja sama dengan pihak sekolah untuk membantu meningkatkan harga diri siswa, salah satunya dengan cara menggali aspek positif diri, dalam upaya mencegah siswa terlibat cyberbullying. Daftar Pustaka : 118 (1965 – 2017) Kata Kunci : Harga Diri, Cyberbullying, dan Remaj

Science Mapping: A Bibliometric Analysis on Cyberbullying and the Psychological Dimensions of the Self

Cyberbullying prevalence is increasing in the world, being a form of abuse that follows victims into their most intimate settings. Cyberbullying affects victims’ mental health, self-esteem, emotions, and academic performance. Cyberbullies present low levels of self-control and empathy. This research aimed to map scientific research on Cyberbullying and the Psychological Dimensions of the Self. A bibliometric analysis of scientific documents published in journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) was performed. Traditional bibliometric laws were applied and VOSviewer was used to generate visualizations. The annual publications followed exponential growth. Computers in Human Behaviour was the journal with the most publications. Researchers from the USA and Spain were the most prolific. Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin were the most cited authors. Hence, there is a growing interest among researchers in Cyberbullying and the emotional aspects of children and adolescents. The USA and Spain were the leading countries in research on this subject. Rosario Ortega-Ruiz, Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin were the most prolific and influential authors.The APC was funded by the Open Access Program of Universidad de Las Américas. Funding was provided by Internal Research Project Nº812022 of Universidad de Las Americas. The author Á.D.-Z. (FPU20/04201) was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. Grants FPU20/04201 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by “European Social Fund Investing in your future” or by “European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR”. We also thank the Universidad de Las Américas for their support of the Open Access initiative

A Study of The Direct and Indirect Relationships between Online Disinhibition and Depression and Stress Being Mediated by The Frequency of Cyberbullying from Victim and Perpetrator Perspectives

This study attempted to investigate the direct and indirect influences of online disinhibition effect on university students’ levels of depression and stress, being mediated by their reported frequency of cyberbullying as victim and perpetrator. A total of 217 students completed a survey questionnaire consisting of a demographics section, the Online Disinhibition Scale (Udris, 2014) to measure benign online disinhibition and toxic online disinhibition, the Cyberbullying Scale (Patchin & Hinduja, 2010) to measure cyberbullying as victim and perpetrator, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) to measure depression and stress levels. Results revealed that the participants’ reported mean score of benign online disinhibition (i.e., helpful and prosocial behaviors) was higher than that of toxic online disinhibition (i.e., hurtful and denigrating behaviors). Results of path analysis showed that the participants’ reported level of toxic online disinhibition has both direct and indirect influences on their reported levels of depression and stress. In terms of direct influence, it was found that the higher the participants’ reported level of toxic online disinhibition, the higher their reported levels of depression and stress. The results also showed that in terms of indirect influence, the higher the participants’ reported level of toxic online disinhibition, the more they reported themselves as being victims of cyberbullying and, subsequently, the higher their reported levels of depression and stress. The participants’ reported level of benign online disinhibition was not found to be significantly associated with their reported levels of depression and stress, either directly or indirectly

Validity and Reliability Analysis of the Cyberbullying Scale

This study aimed to test the construct validity and construct reliability on the cyberbullying scale, and to examine the forms and indicators reflecting the construct of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying was measured by a cyberbullying scale that referred to the forms of cyberbullying, namely harassment, denigration, flaming, impersonation, masquerading, pseudonym, outing and trickery, and cyberstalking. The populations in this study were 393 2nd grade students at X, Y, Z high schools in Yogyakarta. The sample in this study were 146 students from 6 classes consisting of 93 males and 53 females with an age range of 16-17 years. The sampling technique used cluster random sampling. The cyberbullying scale was adopted as the data collection method. The data of this study were analyzed using Structural Equational Model (SEM) through the SmartPLS 3.2.8 program. Based on the results of the analysis, the forms and indicators creating the construct of cyberbullying were declared as valid and reliable. The most dominant form reflecting cyberbullying was masquerading with a loading factor of 0.879. Meanwhile, the weakest form reflecting cyberbullying was outing and trickery, with a loading factor value of 0.638. This showed that all forms and indicators were able to reflect and form the construct of cyberbullying. Thus, the measurement model could be accepted because the theory that describes cyberbullying is in accordance with empirical data obtained through the subject

Bullying and the transition from primary to secondary school

Peer relationships within the school environment are one of the most important determinants of social and mental wellbeing for adolescents and as such, schools have become increasingly aware of the prevalence, seriousness and negative impacts of bullying behaviour. The transition from primary to secondary school provides both challenges and opportunities as many adolescents undergo transition while experiencing environmental, physiological, cognitive and social changes as part of the adolescent development process. This is also a period during a student’s school life when their risk of being bullied is higher than at other times. The aim of this study was to use longitudinal data to examine bullying experiences and their temporal association with other problem behaviours, social and mental health during the transition period from primary to secondary school. The findings from this research will facilitate the development of empirically grounded recommendations for effective school policy and practice to help reduce the bullying experiences and enhance the social and mental health of adolescents who are transitioning from primary school to high school. Longitudinal data collected during the Supportive Schools Project (SSP) were used to address the aim of the study. The SSP project recruited 21 Catholic education secondary schools in Perth, Western Australia, and tracked 3,459 students from the last year of primary school (Year 7) to the end of the second year of secondary school (Year 9). The SSP aimed to enhance the capacity of secondary schools to implement a whole-of-school bullying reduction intervention. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire on four occasions that allowed for a longitudinal assessment of their knowledge, attitudes, and bullying experiences during the transition from primary to secondary school. This research comprised four stages. The predictive relationship of bullying perpetration and victimisation and the future level of involvement in other problem behaviours were explored in Stage 1 of this research. Stages 2 and 3 investigated the direction and strength of the relationships between social and mental health factors (e.g., loneliness at school, connectedness to school, peer support, safety at school, depression and anxiety) and bullying victimisation during early adolescence, and determined the most critical time to focus school-based social health and bullying intervention programs. Stage 4 investigated the social health predictors and mental health outcomes of chronic victimisation over the primary to secondary school transition period. Six research questions were tested as part of this research and are reported in a series of five peer-reviewed publications. The first research question, (Does the level of bullying involvement predict level of engagement in problem behaviours?) was addressed in Stage 1. Results from Stage 1 found high correlations between cyberbullying and traditional forms of bullying, and found levels of traditional victimisation and perpetration at the beginning of secondary school (Year 8) predicted levels of engagement in problem behaviours at the end of Year 9. Cyberbullying was not found to represent an independent risk factor over and above levels of traditional victimisation and perpetration for higher levels of engagement in problem behaviours. Stage 1 results highlighted the importance of reducing the frequency of bullying prior to and during transition to lessen the likelihood of future involvement in bullying and other problem behaviours. Knowledge of the temporal relationships between social and mental health and bullying experiences over the transition period may allow for early intervention to address bullying, which in turn, may lessen the likelihood of involvement in other problem behaviours. These results from Stage 1 led to Stages 2 and 3. Stage 2 addressed the relationship between social health and bullying experiences, answering Research Questions 2 and 3 (What is the temporal association between peer support, pro-victim attitudes, school connectedness and negative outcome expectancies of bullying behaviour and perpetration-victimisation over the transition period from primary to secondary school?; What is the temporal association between social variables such as connectedness to school, peer support, loneliness at school, safety at school and victimisation during and following the transition period from primary to secondary school?). Stage 3 involved examining the temporal relationship between mental health and victimisation addressing Research Question 4 (What is the temporal association between mental health and bullying victimisation over the transition period?). The significant reciprocal associations found in the cross-lag models between bullying and social and mental health indicate social and mental health factors may be both determinants and consequences of bullying behaviours (Stages 2 and 3). Based on the magnitude of the coefficients, the strongest associations in the direction from victimisation to the social health variables occurred from the beginning to the end of Year 8, suggesting these relationships may already be well established for some students by the time they complete primary school. Reducing students’ victimisation in Year 8 may, therefore, protect students from poorer social and mental health outcomes during the first and subsequent years of secondary school. Understanding the social health predictors and mental health outcomes of those chronically victimised over the transition period led to Stage 4 of this research. Stage 4 answered Research Questions 5 and 6 (How do social variables such as connectedness to school, peer support, loneliness at school, and safety at school predict class membership in bullying victimisation trajectories over the transition period?; Can class membership in bullying victimisation trajectories predict mental health outcomes such as depression and anxiety?). Using developmental trajectories of victimisation during and following the transition from primary to secondary school, adolescents were assigned to non-victim, low, increasing and stable victimisation groups. Adolescents with poorer social health were more likely to be in the increasing and stable victimised groups than in the not bullied group. Students in the low increasing victimised group had poorer mental health outcomes than those in the stable and not bullied groups. Unexpectedly, the impact of victimization onset at the start of secondary school had a greater impact on mental health than prolonged victimisation beginning at an alternative developmental stage. The results of Stage 4 reiterate the importance of intervening to reduce bullying prior to and during the transition period. There are limitations which may affect the validity and generalisability of these research findings. Threats to the internal validity of this study include data collection methods, selfreport data, measurement limitations, and attrition. The causal links and trajectory groups were studied over a relatively short, but critical, social time period consisting of immense social growth and development of social skills and relationships. For some students, the associations studied may have been well established prior to their involvement in the study. These findings collectively suggest that by secondary school bullying behaviours and outcomes for students are fairly well established. Prior to transition and the beginning of secondary school appears to be a critical time to provide targeted social health and bullying intervention programs. The results of this study have important implications for the timing of school-based interventions aimed at reducing victimisation and the harms caused by long-term exposure