Abstract
Cyberbullying has gained increasing attention over the past decade, in part driven by significant media coverage on this topic.' While media attention has increased, prevalence rates derived from national and local surveys indicate that cyberbullying is a less common experience among youth than traditional bullying. Nonetheless, a significant number of youth experience both cyberbullying and its deleterious effects, and additional research is needed to guide nascent prevention and intervention efforts. In particular, existing research does not clarify the extent to which cyberbullying overlaps with traditional bullying or other forms of victimization that children might encounter in their schools, homes, and communities. Further, few studies have focused on the extent to which cyberbullying contributes to psychological distress when combined with other victimization exposures. To that end, the goals of the current investigation were to, (1) assess rates of cyberbullying victimization by sex, age, and race/ethnicity; (2) examine the overlap between cyberbullying victimization and traditional bullying; (3) evaluate the overlap between cyberbullying victimization and other victimization forms, and (4) determine the extent to which cyberbullying victimization alone and in conjunction with other victimization exposures is associated with psychological distress. Given the limited research base on these issues, and at times divergent findings (e.g., with respect to sex differences), the investigation was largely exploratory. However, we expected to find a significant association between cyber and traditional bullying.
Recommended Citation
Melissa K. Holt and Dorothy L. Espelage,
Cyberbullying Victimization: Associations with Other Victimization Forms and Psychological Distress,
77 Mo. L. Rev.
(2012)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol77/iss3/4