Abstract
<p>A total of 116 adolescents, ranging in age from 15 to 19 years, completed a questionnaire that assessed their experiences with cyberbullying, what they would do if they were a victim of cyberbullying, and what they believed their parents would recommend they do if they were a victim of cyberbullying. The proportion of adolescents who reported ever being cyberbullied was larger than the proportion of adolescents who reported ever cyberbullying another person. In addition, the adolescents reported that they were more frequently cyberbullied by same-sex peers than by opposite-sex peers. Although the adolescents’ preferred response to a cyberbully was congruent with the response they believed their parents would recommend (i.e., ignore the cyberbully), the adolescents anticipated that they and their parents would disagree on the individuals from whom the adolescents should seek advice if they were cyberbullied. Specifically, whereas the adolescents anticipated that their parents would want to be the primary advice-providers, the adolescents indicated that they would be more likely to seek advice from their friends than their parents or teachers if they were a victim of cyberbullying.</p>
Highlights
With more than 90% of adolescents using mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, and tablets for daily communication with peers (Lenhart, 2015), social victimization via cyberbullying is becoming an increasingly common and serious problem among adolescents (Cuervo, Martinez, Quintana, & Amezaga, 2014; Smith, Mahdavi, Carvalho, Fisher, Russell, & Tippett, 2008; Tokunaga, 2010)
To determine whether the adolescents had ever been a victim and/or a perpetrator of cyberbullying, and whether these experiences differed between boys and girls, a series of chi-square analyses were conducted
To examine the frequency with which boys and girls had been cyberbullied by other boys and girls, a 2 (Gender of Adolescent) x 2 (Gender of Cyberbully) mixed-ANOVA was conducted on the adolescents’ estimates of how frequently they have been cyberbullied by boys and girls
Summary
With more than 90% of adolescents using mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, and tablets for daily communication with peers (Lenhart, 2015), social victimization via cyberbullying is becoming an increasingly common and serious problem among adolescents (Cuervo, Martinez, Quintana, & Amezaga, 2014; Smith, Mahdavi, Carvalho, Fisher, Russell, & Tippett, 2008; Tokunaga, 2010). One explanation that has been proposed to explain adolescents’ reluctance to inform and seek advice from parents when victimized by a cyberbully is that adolescents believe that parents lack experience with cyberbullying and may suggest actions that will only exacerbate the problem (e.g., Mishna et al, 2009). Given the negative consequences associated with cyberbullying and the important role parents can potentially play in dealing with cyberbullying among adolescents (Hinduja & Patchin, 2007), the primary purpose of the present study was to address this proposed explanation for adolescents’ reluctance to seek advice from their parents when cyberbullied.
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