Cyberbullying (eBook)

Lucy R. Betts is Reader in Social Developmental Psychology at Nottingham Trent University, UK. Recently her research has examined cyberbullying, perceptions of risk, and young people’s technology use. Previous research has focused on aspects of children’s social relationships with regard to psychosocial and school adjustment.

Acknowledgements 6
Contents 8
List of Tables 10
Chapter 1: Introduction 11
1.1 Aggression, Harassment, and Bullying 12
1.2 Brief Outline of Cyberbullying 13
1.3 Overview of the Text 14
References 16
Chapter 2: Definitions of Cyberbullying 18
2.1 Defining Cyberbullying 19
2.2 Media 26
2.3 Behaviours 28
2.4 Young People’s Understanding of Cyberbullying 31
References 36
Chapter 3: The Unique Nature of Cyberbullying 41
3.1 The Digital World 42
3.2 Repetition 46
3.3 Audience and Visibility of Cyberbullying 47
3.4 Power 49
3.5 Anonymity 52
3.6 Intention 55
3.7 Relentless Nature of Cyberbullying 56
3.8 Roles Associated with Cyberbullying 57
3.9 Complexity of Legal Stance of Cyberbullying 57
References 58
Chapter 4: Prevalence 63
4.1 The Importance of Understanding Prevalence Rates 64
4.2 Conceptual and Methodological Issues 70
4.3 Sample Characteristics 74
4.4 Country of Study 76
4.5 Factors That Predict Involvement in Cyberbullying 77
References 81
Chapter 5: The Consequences of Cyberbullying 89
5.1 Psychosocial Adjustment Consequences 90
5.2 General Consequences 95
5.3 Suicide 98
5.4 Involvement in Cyberbullying 100
5.5 Consequences of Cyberbullying According to the Perpetrator, Audience, and Media 101
5.6 Are There Really Consequences of Cyberbullying? 102
References 105
Chapter 6: What Can Be Done About Cyberbullying 111
6.1 Interventions 113
6.2 The Law and Cyberbullying 129
6.3 Practicalities of Addressing Cyberbullying 132
References 134
Chapter 7: Conclusions 140
7.1 The Need for a Common Definition of Cyberbullying 141
7.2 The Need for Agreement on the Measures of Cyberbullying 141
7.3 The Need to Establish Accurate Prevalence Rates of Cyberbullying 142
7.4 The Need for Longitudinal Work to Examine the Consequences of Cyberbullying 143
7.5 The Need to Develop Robust and Empirically Validated Interventions 144
7.6 The Need to Clarify the Legal Status of Cyberbullying 144
7.7 The Need to Recognise That Technology and Cyberbullying is Evolving 145
References 146
Index 149