Given the serious issue of bullying, this study sought to assess middle and high school students\u27 knowledge of appropriate use and their behaviors on the Internet and social networking sites, especially regarding behaviors that may lead to cyberbullying or contact with potential Internet predators.  Three school districts (urban, suburban, and urban ring) with grades 6 - 12 are participating in this study. Differences among and between grade levels, gender, and school demographics at the dimension and item-level will be presented

Filippelli, Lawrence

Gable, Robert K.

Kite, Stacey L.

English

DigitalCommons@UConn

Assessment of students\u27 knowledge of Internet risk and Internet behaviors: Potential threats to bullying and contact by Internet predators

Given the serious issue of bullying, this study sought to assess middle and high school students\u27 knowledge of appropriate use and their behaviors on the Internet and social networking sites, especially regarding behaviors that may lead to cyberbullying or contact with potential Internet predators

Filippelli, Lawrence P

HELIN Digital Commons

Assessment of Students’ Knowledge of Internet Risk and Internet Behaviors: Potential Threat to Bullying and Contact by Internet Predators

OpenCommons at University of Connecticut

ScholarsArchive at Johnson & Wales University

Johnson & Wales UniversityScholarsArchive@JWUCyberbullying Center for Research and Evaluation10-2010Assessment of Students’ Knowledge of InternetRisk and Internet Behaviors: Potential Threat toBullying and Contact by Internet PredatorsStacey L. KiteJohnson & Wales University - Providence, skite@jwu.eduRobert K. GableJohnson & Wales University - Providence, rgable@jwu.eduLawrence P. FilippelliJohnson & Wales University - Providence, lfilippelli@jwu.eduFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cyberbullyingPart of the Other Education Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Other Social andBehavioral Sciences Commons, and the Sociology of Culture CommonsThis Conference Proceeding is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Research and Evaluation at ScholarsArchive@JWU. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Cyberbullying by an authorized administrator of ScholarsArchive@JWU. For more information, please contactjcastel@jwu.edu.Repository CitationKite, Stacey L.; Gable, Robert K.; and Filippelli, Lawrence P., "Assessment of Students’ Knowledge of Internet Risk and InternetBehaviors: Potential Threat to Bullying and Contact by Internet Predators" (2010). Cyberbullying. 5.https://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cyberbullying/5          Assessment of Students’ Knowledge of Internet Risk and Internet Behaviors: Potential Threat to Bullying and Contact by Internet Predators1         Stacey L. Kite Robert K. Gable   Education Leadership Doctoral Program  Center for Research & Evaluation The Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School Johnson & Wales University    Lawrence P. Filippelli Scituate School Department, Rhode Island Center for Research & Evaluation The Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School Johnson & Wales University    ________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, October, 2010, Rocky Hill, CT.Purpose of the Study      Given the serious issue of bullying, this study sought to assess middle and high school students' knowledge of appropriate use and their behaviors on the Internet and social networking sites, especially regarding behaviors that may lead to cyberbullying or contact with potential Internet predators.  Framework      The topics of school administrators' awareness and development of preventive plans becomes more important in light of the currently increasing discussion of bullying in the national news. For example, the MA District Attorney recently indicated that the South Hadley MA ninth grader, Phoebe Prince, suffered a nearly three-month campaign of assultative behavior and threats of physical harm prior to walking home and hanging herself. Currently, nine students are facing criminal charges. In CT, a 2008 law requires schools to report incidences and develop plans to prevent bullying behaviors. The key to these efforts is assessment of what students know about the risks of bullying and what behaviors they are currently victims of or tend to engage in themselves. Methodology Sample        Middle and High School students from N=6 school districts in a Southern New England state participated in this study.  A total of N=4215 students, n=1594 high school students and n=2621 middle school students, participated in the study.  Instrumentation         Scales and scoring technique. The instrument contains 7 literature derived demographic items (Franek, 2005/2006; Lenhart, 2007; Ma, 2001; McKenna, 2007; Shariff, 2008) and 26 statements constructed to describe students’ knowledge of risks and behaviors associated with using the Internet, as well as their experiencing or exhibiting specified attributes associated with Internet use. Response format. Students were asked to “Agree” or “Disagree” with each statement. Responses were scored “1” or “0” to reflect a high level of the attribute measured by the scale (e.g., Knowledge) or higher levels of having experienced the attribute (e.g., Bully Victim, Adult Notification, and Parental Involvement) or exhibited the attribute (e.g., Bully Behavior; Internet Behavior).          Appropriate agreeing or disagreeing with a statement received a score of “1” (e.g., agree with the statement: Making threats online can get me into trouble with the police or disagreeing with the statement: I have posted mean or threatening statements about another student online.); an inappropriate agree or disagree response was scored “0. This scoring technique was designed to produce scores where high scoring students had higher levels of knowledge, were more often bullied, tended not to participate in bullying, had parents who were aware of their child’s Internet activities, used the Internet more often, and were willing to contact an adult if they were threatened by a peer or stranger on the Internet.         The “Knowledge” scale was composed of seven items describing the students’ knowledge of appropriate behavior on social networks and potential risk of Internet predators (Franek, 2005/2006; McKenna, 2007).  The remaining 19 items on the instrument were designed to identify whether or not students had experienced (e.g., Bully Victim, Parental Involvement) or exhibited specified attributes (e.g., Bully Behavior, Adult Notification, Internet Behavior).       Validity. Content validity of the items was supported through the literature (Franek, 2006; McKenna, 2007; Shariff, 2008; Weaver, 2007) and judgmental review by N=5 middle school teachers and N=2 principals. For prior data gathered on N = 1366 middle school students construct validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis, Rasch model analysis, and latent class analysis.  Data Analysis           Descriptive data, using response percentages for the agree and  disagree options, were calculated along with dimension and item-level mean correct percents for both high school and middle school grade levels. Additionally, differences among and beween grade levels at the dimension level are reported.   Findings Table 1 Knowledge of Internet risk and Internet behavior regarding predators by Middle School and High School.       Item Response Middle School High School Agree 30% 26% 12.  With the contact information I put on MySpace or Facebook, it would be easy for an Internet predator to contact me.  Degree 70% 74% Agree 31% 27% 17.  An  Internet predator could make contact with me based on the information I have posted online. Degree 69% 73% Agree 28% 19% 25.  An Internet predator could contact me based on what my friends have posted about me. Degree 72% 81% Note. Bold percents indicate "appropriate" response.       Table 1, Knowledge of Internet risk and Internet behavior regarding predators by Middle School and High School, reveals that the greater majority of students do not believe a predator could contact them based on information they, or their friends, post online. The risk associated with electronic forms of communication is clearly not understood.  This ignorance is yet one example of how predators can contact our children.      Table 2, Bullying behaviors and victims by Middle School and High School, reveals the responses to questions regarding identifying as being a bully victim, or having participated in bullying behaviors.  Although the percentages of student being bullied may look low, it represents 636  Table 2 Bullying behaviors and victims by Middle School and High School.       Item Response Middle School High School Agree 30% 26%  1.  Victim I have been bullied by another student while online. Degree 70% 74% Agree 30% 26%  18.  Bullying Behavior Online, I sometimes say hurtful things to others that I would not say in person. Degree 70% 74% Agree 31% 27%  6.  I have posted mean or threatening statements about another student online. Degree 69% 73% Agree 28% 19%  3.  I have logged onto my friend’s social networking site and pretended to be them. Degree 72% 81% Note. Bold percents indicate "appropriate" response.  students over just 6 districts. This represents over 100 bullies per district, and this is just a small sample frrm said district.  Likewise, those who participated in bully behaviors represent far too many students.  Table 3 Parental Involvement and Adult Notification.       Item Response Middle School High School Agree 30% 10%  1.  Parental Involvement My parents have access to all of my passwords Degree 70% 90% Agree 33% 17%  18.  My parents regularly check my activity on the internet. Degree 67% 83% Agree 64% 42%  6.  Adult Notification If I had been bullied online, I would tell a parent or another adult. Degree 36% 58% Agree 56% 26%  3.  If I were contacted by someone I did not know on instant messenger, I would tell an adult. Degree 44% 74% Note. Bold percents indicate "appropriate" response.  Table 3, Parental Involvement and Adult Notification, reveals that Parental Involvement in Internet activities is believed to be low. A mere 30% of the middle school students responded that their parents have access to their password and 33% believe their parents check their internet activity regularly.  This number becomes more disturbing as students move from middle school to high school, with only 10% responded that their parents have access to their password and 17% believing that their parents check their internet activity regularly.      Likewise, the responses to the Adult Notification items were unsettling. Just over half, 56%, of the middle school students responded that they would notify a parent or adult if they were contacted by someone they did not know on instant messenger, a bit higher, 64% if they were bullied. Conversely, high school students plummet to only 26% responding that they would notify a parent or adult if they were contacted by someone they did not know on instant messenger and 26% would tell and adult or parent if they were bullied.      Table 4, The differences seen between middle school and high school students on these two dimensions; Parental Involvement and Adult Notification.  The findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the grade levels on both dimensions. The knowledge of Parental Involvement reduces dramatically from middle school (t=16.36, p=.001, M=.27, ES=.50) to high school (M=.12).  Likewise, there is a drop off in responses to Adult Notification from middle school (t=20.23, p=.001, M=.59, ES=.64) and high school (M=.34).      Table 4: Comparison of Parental Involvement and Adult Notification Dimensions with respect to grade level     Dimension/Item Grade Level M t P d           Parental Involvement Middle School .27 16.33 .001 .50       High School .12   Medium           Adult Notification Middle School .59 20.23 .001 .64    High School .34   Large Note. A higher mean for yes indicates on Bully Victim, Internet Behavior, and Parental involvement indicates higher activity (have been bullied, use the internet more, have involved parents) Whereas a high mean for Bully Behavior means that they are not involved in bullying behavior, therefore, making good decisions.  Conclusions      The internet introduces new issues for school administrators, parents, and the community at large. Research suggests that teens do not understand the consequences or risk of on-line behaviors. They feel invisible; therefore, invincible. They are able to hide behind the technology, oftentimes allowing them to act in ways they would not if they were speaking in person.        The results of this study revealed the following: 1. Students do not recognize the risk associated with electronic forms of communication. They fail to realize that anything placed on-line is, in fact, public communication.  2. An alarming number of students have admitted to being bullied in school, N=636 students, n=366 middle school students and n=270 high school students.  3. There is an increase from middle school to high school for students who reported being bullied, and participating in bulling behaviors. 4. Parental involvement, overall, is low; middle school 33%, high school 17%, with regard to monitoring of internet activities. 5. Parental involvement decreases as students move from middle school to high school. 6. A low percent of students reported that they would tell an adult if they were bullied; middle school 64%, high school 42%,  or contacted by a stranger; middle school 56%, high school 26%.  References Franek, M. (2005/2006.) Foiling cyberbullies in the new wild west.      Educational Leadership, 63, 39-43.  Goodstein, A. (2007). Totally wired: What teens and tweens are really     doing online. New York: St. Martin’s Press.  Horrigan, J. B. (2007). Home Broadband Adoption 2007. Pew Internet and       American Life Project. Retrieved on July 10, 2008 at http://www.pewint      ernet.org/PPF/a/105/about_staffer.asp   Lenhart, A. (2005). Protecting teens online. Washington, DC: Pew Research      Center.  Ma, X. (2001). Bullying and being bullied: To what extent are bullies also       victims? American Educational Research Journal, 38(2): 351-370.         McKenna, P. (2007). The rise of cyberbullying. New Scientist, 195 (2613), 60.  Shariff, S. (2008). Cyberbullying: Issues and solutions for the school, the       classroom, and the home. New York: Routledge.  Subrahmanyam, K., Kraut, R., Greenfield, P., & Gross, E. (2001). New forms      of electronic media. In Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (Eds.), Handbook of      children and the media (73 – 99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.  Tarpley, T. (2001). Children, the internet, and other new technologies. In      Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (Eds.), Handbook of children and the media      (73 – 99). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.   Weaver, R. (2007). What they’re saying. Curriculum Review. 47, 2.     

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Assessment of students\u27 knowledge of Internet risk and Internet behaviors: Potential threats to bullying and contact by Internet predators

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