Understanding Bullying on- and off-Line: Is There Overlap?

Introduction: There is emerging evidence that electronic aggression or cyber bullying is the one form of bullying that is becoming more common (Mishna et al., 2010). Whereas some research suggests that traditional forms of aggression (i.e., physical, verbal, or relational) have similar characteristics and correlates to that of cyber bullying, other research suggests there are some important differences in these various forms of bullying. It is also unclear whether there are consequences specific to being involved in cyber bullying that are distinct from those associated with traditional forms of bullying (e.g., Fredstrom et al., 2011). More research is needed where multiple forms of bullying are examined simultaneously to do a comprehensive comparison.  

This study aimed to examine the overlap of verbal, physical, and relational with cyber bullying among a large sample of high school students.  The second aim was to examine characteristics and correlates of cyber victims as compared to traditional (“off-line”) victims.  The final aim was to explore details of the cyber bullying experience (e.g., who sent the message, how was the message sent, the order of the cyber experience in relation to traditional bullying, what the message was about).

Method: Data come from 28,104 adolescents (grades 9-12) attending 58 high schools (54% Male, 46.5% White) collected in spring 2012. The sample is drawn from a population-based study focused on school climate. Youth completed an extensive on-line assessment that included their victimization experience with multiple forms of bullying, including cyber, relational, physical, and verbal bullying and social-emotional correlates (e.g., internalizing problems, externalizing problems).

Results: Approximately 23% (n=6,379) of the youth reported being victims of any form of bullying (i.e., cyber, relational, physical, verbal) within the last month, with 25.6% of those victims reporting being cyber bullied.  The largest proportion (50.3%) of victims reported they were victimized by all four forms, while only 4.6% reported being only cyber bullied. Girls were more likely to be cyber bullied than boys. Multilevel analyses indicated that as compared to those who were only bullied offline, those who were cyber bullied were more likely to have externalizing (AOR = 1.44) and internalizing symptoms (AOR = 1.25).  Further, those who were cyber bullied were significantly more likely to also experience relational forms of victimization (AOR = 5.84).  Details regarding the cyber bullying experience will also be presented, such as who sent the message (e.g., a friend), how the message was sent (e.g., social networking site), what the content of the message (e.g., dating partners), and the order in which they experienced on- and off-line bullying.

Discussion:

These findings suggest a high level of overlap between bullying which occurs in person and that which occurs on-line. Additional consideration is needed of this ever-evolving form of victimization that an increasing number of youth are experiencing. Implications for preventive interventions targeting youth involved with cyber bullying and its overlap with other forms of bullying will be discussed.